- Location
- US
Awesome, glad for another chapter! I really like what you've done with the world.
Z City Neighbors (One-Punch Man SI)
- Thread starter Streggae
- Start date
-
- Tags
- one punch man self insert
verycoolname
Not actually cool
Do-S and Tomoro's meeting was fun to read.
Is tomoro as strong as current manga Saitama?
That's a loaded question if I've ever heard one. The way I envision Tomoro's full power Saitama so far hasn't exceeded it as of chapter 167 of the manga. So to answer your question Tomoro is stronger than 'current' manga Saitama.
I very much doubt what we're seeing is Saitama's full power since he's keeping Genos' core safe. He very much taking the fight seriously but Saitama is definitely not using his full power.
Last edited:
I know because garou is not the final villain for one punch man so tomoro has to be at least as strong as Saitama is right now to prevent the major problems from repeating itself again especially with solaria being in possible danger am sure with two more dangerous humans the monster association executives would get a power up from he who must not be named cause I don't actually know what his name is
Didn't Tomoro once say that he's basically a Beerus expy or something? So doesn't that make him stronger than Season 2 Saitama?
I'm not a big Dragon Ball fan but I know that Beerus once effortlessly disintegrated half a planet by just tapping his finger.
Season 1 Saitama had get 'serious' for his attacks to have planet-wide effects...
Did the author ever clarify the strength of any of the OCs?
I'm not a big Dragon Ball fan but I know that Beerus once effortlessly disintegrated half a planet by just tapping his finger.
Season 1 Saitama had get 'serious' for his attacks to have planet-wide effects...
Did the author ever clarify the strength of any of the OCs?
MrRobot
In doubt there's always the Sun!
Being an expy is more about having the same kind of power not necessarily the raw power, tomoro can use ki like a DBZ character possibly have access to ultra ego and instinct and can use destruction energy with a in depth knoledge of martial arts powerwise... Lets say that a fight against saitama will not he one sided
Technically he said he was like a Dragon Ball God of Destruction and yes he is more powerful than 'Season 2' Saitama though I use the Manga or the most recent Arcs in the Webcomic as exclusive references for the characters. You are right Beerus did disintegrate half a planet 'by tapping a table' because the food the aliens served him was sub par. I never made an official statement clarifying the strength of my OCs but I think I've painted a good enough picture.
Officially I place Tomoro and Solaria in the 'Saitama' class. It doesn't mean that they are invincible gods of strength but that through their own circumstances both of them have gotten rid of their limiters and their powers have gone beyond the realm of common sense and into ridiculousness.
The same kind of ridiculousness that allows Saitama to punch his way into a psychic dreamscape hosted in someone elses mind or literally manhandle a portal like its a football or frisbee. Despite not being an esper or having the ability to manipulate energy
Take that same level of overpowered ridiculousness but apply them to someone with Psychic powers and someone who can use Dragon Ball-esque Ki energy.
- Location
- Argentina
That's what basically what I thought was going on anyway.
Anyway the real important question, will have the psychic sisters get used to mommy having a boyfriend?
Anyway the real important question, will have the psychic sisters get used to mommy having a boyfriend?
I really like both of the reincarnated SIs!
Solaria is a queen you don't want to mess with, someone who's loud and vibrant like a raging fire. While Tomoro is so casual and mysterious, simmering underneath! I like how different they both are and how they represent either way how an SI would traverse the world. Either they go out of their way to change everything or stick with something familiar and make contingency plans!
Solaria is a queen you don't want to mess with, someone who's loud and vibrant like a raging fire. While Tomoro is so casual and mysterious, simmering underneath! I like how different they both are and how they represent either way how an SI would traverse the world. Either they go out of their way to change everything or stick with something familiar and make contingency plans!
Chapter 12
Author's Notes: SURPRISE! That's right it's not an out of season April Fools joke, I am releasing this chapter early. I figure I've done so many late publishing that I might as well do at least one early one. Don't expect this to be a regular occurrence since this is as a result of my general good mood which in itself is a result of me on a creative high so to speak.
So enjoy this early release…
Garou limped along the road bruised, bloodied and holding his side. Today he experienced his first defeat although 'defeat' would imply a battle when in reality it was more akin to a curb stomp. In his life he had only ever experienced such a thorough beating once and it was at the hands of his old master which was the expected result. His fight against Watchdog Man on the other hand was not only one-sided but also unexpected and Garou genuinely did not expect such an end result.
With all the hype surrounding the S-Class heroes Garou expected them to challenge him in ways that pushed him physically and mentally with his only options being to either overcome or die. Then his expectations crumbled when Tank Top Master and Metal Bat turned out to be meatheads who only knew how to flail around. They were the ones to set the precedence for his low expectations of the other S-Class. Garou will admit that he went into that fight a bit cocky but in his defense Watchdog Man was literally just some guy in a mascot costume.
How the hell could he take a guy like that seriously!?
And yet it was at the hands of this seemingly gimmicky hero that Garou received a true unexpected challenge as well as a brutal defeat. It wasn't just that the guy was stronger and faster than the other two S-Class heroes he defeated either. It was that he was like a literal animal that was more beast than man. Garou could read Watchdog Man's movements but when it came to adapting and counterattacking against him he fell short and the reason was quite simple.
The old man had only ever taught him how to fight humanoid enemies and in his pursuit of absorbing as many martial arts styles as he could Garou has only ever fought humans up to this point. Yet despite his injuries Garou had a wide smile on his face for today he had made a great discover in his defeat. His fight against Watchdog Man was the kind of encounter he originally expected from the other S-Class heroes and it honestly relieved him that they weren't all just meatheads that only knew how to flail around.
'My martial arts still has room to improve' and will definitely improve with opponents like Watchdog Man to fight against.
Garou understood that this path he set himself on would have him come across all kinds of enemies and he will eventually become everyone's enemy inevitably becoming the ultimate enemy of mankind itself. It was only a matter of time before he met someone whom he cannot defeat as he is now. He would honestly be very disappointed if it turned out to be so easy that his current skills were enough to fulfill his aspirations.
Because he knew this Garou took every opportunity to improve himself through his battles. Most of his opponents have contributed something to his evolution and Watchdog Man was no different.
'I hope you enjoyed beating the crap out of me because the next time we meet things will be different!'
"Hm?"
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices. It's been so quiet ever since the monster attack that it was very noticeable to his keen senses.
'Is it more monsters?'
He hugged the wall of a corner and took a peak only for his jaw to drop at who he saw.
'One-Punch Man!?' his eyes squinted because surely it must be a trick of the light or his injuries getting the best of him but it is him he's looked at his photo enough times to confirm it.
The strongest man in the world.
Now that he's confirmed his identity Garou became momentarily stuck on what to do. He was wounded and wasn't in any position to pick a fight let alone with the strongest S-Class hero. And if he learned anything from Watchdog Man it was that not all S-Class heroes are equals. On the other hand he knew an opportunity like this would seldom present itself again. One-Punch Man despite being very popular and well known was something of an enigma. There wasn't much known about him to the point where even the city he's based out of was a mystery. If Garou wanted to find him he wouldn't even know where to look or how to go about getting his attention.
The guy just pops up, kills the monster and disappears like a ghost.
Garou's fist clenched as suddenly his fatigue lessened, a rush of energy revitalized his body causing the pain and soreness to ebb away, adrenaline flushed his system and his instincts sharpened to a razors edge. Thoughts of his disastrous bout with Watchdog Man became a distant memory for Garou as his body continued to buildup in excitement. Losing wasn't an option, he just needed to approach this differently.
'Analyze his pattern of movements then attack fast and relentlessly. Aim for his vitals and don't give him an inch to counterattack.'
Once he conceived this plan he went over it in his head multiple times and made the necessary tweaks before memorizing it then committed himself to seeing it through.
'I can do this!'
Garou nearly sped off after him however for a single moment his eyes glanced at the person next to him and everything stopped.
'Where have I…'
Suddenly a memory plays out in his head one that up until now was mysteriously absent. He remembered it was a few hours after his fight with Tank Top Master he went to entertainment district in City Z. He knocked out a disgusting man talking some shit about being a 'frontline fighter' to score with some women. Then he came across another poser passing himself off as a 'big shot hero' so naturally Garou had to teach him a lesson. He wasn't a fan of heroes but he hated posers pretending to them even more.
Anyway he threw the first punch and it didn't hit, the man disappeared or so it seems at first. The next thing he felt was a presence behind him followed by a sharp pain then darkness. The next day he woke up on a pile of garbage disoriented with a killer headache and no memories of how he ended up there. At least that was the case until now and he distinctly remembered his encounter with an older man with sharp purple eyes and matching hair.
Garou remembered him but at the same time…
'Who is that guy?'
Garou wasn't familiar with every hero but if there exists one able to pull off what that man did against him he should at least be reasonably famous. Ultimately it didn't matter, what mattered was that Watchdog Man was not the first to defeat him nor even the second. The more he reviewed the memory of their encounter the more he picked up on a crucial difference between him and every hero he's fought so far.
'That guy isn't an amateur.'
That disappearing trick was a movement technique and a high level one if he managed to slip past his senses. Garou reached both hands to the side of his temples where he felt the pain before unconsciousness took him. Garou knew enough about anatomy to realize that the strikes targeted the parts of the brain that dealt with memory.
'That explains why I didn't remember anything.'
At least until Watchdog Man hit him so hard that it jogged his memory…and gave him a concussion.
'I underestimated him' Garou realized 'and he capitalized on that.'
The punch Garou threw wasn't his best. It was made to take out a civilian but even then if he proved to be a fighter than Garou should have been able to adjust on the fly. Instead he was taken out like some random thug on the street. It was fast, quick and the man knew exactly what he was doing, even going as far as to erase his memory of him.
This changes everything.
Garou may have been itching for a fight especially after a loss but he wasn't desperate or delusional enough to take on the strongest S-Class hero and an unknown martial arts master.
'Retreating is the only sensible option here' he turned back and took a detour away from the walking pair 'but I swear I'll get you eventually One-Punch Man' his teeth gritted 'and whoever the hell that other guy is.'
'This fever isn't going away.'
Garou woke up earlier that morning feeling like shit and he couldn't fathom the reason for it. Whatever it was had to be tied to his fight against Watchdog Man since that was the only time he was physically injured.
'I didn't catch anything from that freak did I?'
It was either him or that sludge monster.
"Ugh."
On his way back to the hideout he took advantage of the evacuation to loot the shops of a commercial district. He stole first aid supplies, food, water and a portable radio. The former three were for obvious reasons but the latter item was a spontaneous grab that he happened upon. He wouldn't have gotten it if not for that fact that during that particular day it felt like there were monsters rampaging about everywhere. Plus there was that whole confrontation with the group of monsters attempting to recruit him into their so-called Monster Association.
"Monster Association" he scoffed at the idea of joining those cowards.
Garou held no sympathy for anyone or anything that would involve kids in a battle. He may be a ruthless bastard and his plan may involve becoming the symbol of fear but he had standards. There was a more pressing issue with the Monster Association than just his personal distaste however. Garou hadn't really kept up with the news since he began his hunt so current events were a bit lost on him. He did remember hearing about increased monster attacks in passing but that was about it. Yesterday practically solidified the attacks as being part of some massive operation and Garou was now certain that those bastards were targeting the heroes specifically.
He was lucky enough to catch Metal Bat when he was tossed his way by the giant centipede and Watchdog Man killed all the monsters that went after him.
"Come to think of it even One-Punch Man and that other guy looked like they were coming from a fight" he mumbled before a thought occurred to him.
'Were any of the other S-Class heroes taken out?'
That was the question on his mind as he set up the small radio with batteries and propped it on the sofa. Turning it to a news station Garou kept an ear open as he drank some water. After listening for almost an hour he was about ready to put his fist through the wall.
"Those. Fuckers!"
Garou felt livid. The worst possible outcome had come to pass. For almost an hour straight he listened as all of the radio stations were reporting on the same thing, the Monster Association. They talked about how they swept in launching a sudden global attack across the entire world resulting in massive collateral damages, hero takedowns, prison breaks and monsterization among others.
What in the hell?
None of them, not one of those stations were talking about him. At this point Garou has almost taken down 100 heroes, he took out Tank Top Master and Metal Bat though the credit for that one was going to that fucking giant centipede for some reason.
"Fuck!"
You know what this means?
It means that all of his efforts up to this point were effectively rendered null and void. He wasn't being reported on by the news so no one knew about it, no one knew about him and so no one cared. Who the hell is going to care about one man's battle against the Hero Association when there's a literal army of organized monsters?
The same monsters that tried to recruit him.
"…"
Shutting off the radio for now Garou stood up. He was still sick but he no longer cared for he had more important things to worry about. This changes everything. Before he thought he was in a marathon with the Hero Association but now he was in a race with the Monster Association. If he wanted to make more of an impact then there was no time to laze about. The Monster Association had retreated for now and was lying low after such a massive attack. Heroes were patrolling the cities looking for remnants of their forces. Garou changed his bandages, downed a bottle of water and put on his shirt before leaving the hideout.
It was time to get back to hunting.
Despite her best efforts and despite Suiryu's lack of effort he became a genuine master of the Void Fist and inherited the dojo.
And what did he choose to do with his skill and new position?
Absolutely nothing.
The first couple of years after their grandfather passed the siblings survived through the inheritance money left behind. Suiko was just starting highschool at that point while Suiryu was a dropout who spent his time slacking off, chasing skirts and pursuing momentary flights of fancy. Naturally Suiko had to be the responsible adult and pick up the slack until one day she did the numbers, found their funds were almost dried up and forced him to look for a job.
Instead of finding a steady paying job he instead entered a martial arts tournament. Not what she expected but the prize money kept them out of the black for months, possibly years if used marginally. Turns out Suiko wouldn't have to worry about that since her brother quite liked his experience in the Super Fight Tournament and went on to enter the next one and the next and so on for a total of seven.
Suiryu really seemed to take a shine to this and at the time Suiko liked the idea of him entering the tournament. It not only gave him something productive to do but also made him actually interested in martial arts. She even caught him training at one point! So Suiko decided to attend one of his tournaments and well that was the first and last time she did so. The whole thing turned out to be such a commercial clown show that she couldn't take anything she witnessed seriously.
Even as a young teenager Suiko could have beaten most of those contestants and her brother pretty much confirmed she could have been a winner if she had taken his place on that particular day. But whatever the money was good, her brother had something semi productive to do and she managed to finish high school without worrying about their finances. Actually with the accumulated winnings they were actually well off at the moment. It allowed Suiko to focus more on mastering the Void Fist
Unfortunately she could not allow herself to be totally immersed in it for Suiko was afflicted with the curse of responsibility and was too cognizant of modern society to isolate herself from the world to train in seclusion like her grandfather and the masters of old. Plus her brother was getting bored with the tournament scene due to a lack of challenge which meant that their unfortunate main source of income may become compromised.
Or so it seemed for in the last tournament her brother didn't participate something interesting happened and one of the contestants piqued his interest enough to enter again. Suiko didn't really care as she had her own worries with mastering the Void Fist and finding a source of income that didn't rely on the whims of her lazy older brother.
Then while she was out training monsters attacked and it caused such a commotion that she was forced to see what the heck was going on. What Suiko found were monsters of all kind causing destruction, attacking civilians and overwhelming the heroes. Naturally Suiko couldn't just stand by and watch all this unfold so she sprung into action assisting the heroes. It was Suiko's first time fighting monsters since the heroes of City H usually dealt with them.
So not only was this her first time fighting monsters but it was also her first time actually seeing heroes in action. Said heroes were Mushroom and Horse-Bone and while they weren't all that strong they were well coordinated and competent in their work. Suiko was actually impressed and she ended up tagging along with them to quell the citywide monster attacks. It was the most fun Suiko has had in a very long time.
Truthfully the young woman hasn't had a lot of instances for practical combat and her brother didn't take their sparring seriously enough to give an accurate critique/analysis of her capabilities. And she didn't really know where to even begin to look for other martial artists to spar against. It left Suiko in something of a rut when it came to her skills as a martial artist. So it felt really good to not only have a means of applying her techniques without fear or worry.
Mushroom and Horse-Bone were in complete awe of her whenever they engaged a monster. It felt good to be validated and Suiko now knew why her brother soaked up the spotlight in those tournaments. Being praised for her hard earned skills felt good, having people thank her for saving them or congratulate her for a job well done made her feel even better and using her martial arts to fight against monsters was simply the best. By the end of it Suiko was thanked profusely by the heroes and the City H branch of the Hero Association and extended an invite to join their ranks.
Suiko didn't really think much of the Hero Association or heroes in general. Not in the condescending way like her brother did but in the vein similar to how a person wouldn't think much of a police officer or celebrity. You see them sometimes and hear about them ever so often but you don't seriously give any thought to the profession unless in certain circumstances. Being extended an invite to join them was definitely one of those circumstances.
To that end questions were asked and Suiko left with a new number in her contacts. She was very interested in the offer especially if this was the type of thing heroes did. Fighting monsters, saving people and getting paid for it. Suiko wasn't very interested in the money but she was interested in not being a deadbeat like her brother and having a steady flow of income made the difference. It just so happens she will earn that money fighting monsters and saving people. So what if she has fun while doing it? There's nothing against enjoying your job. She would be a civil servant!
Needless to say Suiko arrived home with a skip in her step and a smile on her face. In direct contrast her brother arrived home dragging his feet and looking contemplative. It was such a drastic change from his usual self that Suiko postponed telling him about her day to ask what happened to him. Suiryu didn't give her an answer at first choosing instead to take a bath and change his clothes while she made dinner.
The two of them ended up talking during dinner. Suiko shared stories of her day first including her serious consideration for being a hero. Contrary to what she believed Suiryu actually supported her decision but gave a word of caution to her about the monsters she might encounter. He was actually quite adamant and somewhat passionate about the warnings and emphasized on her training rigorously if she accepted. It was so out of character for him and she got her answer as to why when he told her about his day.
Suiryu told her about the tournament and how this time around there was some notable persons of interests such as: two pro heroes, a former Super Fight champion like himself named Bakuzan and another man by the name of Tomoro Sazaki. He spoke of how he beat all his opponents with a single kick including the two heroes causing Suiko to roll her eyes because of course he did, how else would he entertain himself in those things?
He spoke of how Tomoro fought defeating two amateurs with simple moves, dominating the former champion with advance moves and brutalizing a straight up psychopath with such viciousness that Suiko cringed at the description. Clearly this man wasn't just another amateur and when it inevitably came to Suiryu's fight against the impossible happened, her brother lost. Suiko was more shocked that her brother would just accept a loss but it wasn't so simple.
Suiryu didn't just lose against Tomoro he literally threw everything he had at the man. All his incidental mastery of the Void Fist was on full display and Tomoro countered all of them with contemptible ease. Tomoro did a complete deconstruction of Suiryu as a fighter and found him wanting. Then by the end Tomoro gave him the win out of pity since he believed someone like Suiryu would benefit more from it than him. It was completely true but Suiko could sympathize with her brother that it must have been humiliating.
A small part of her felt just a bit vindicated that he got a taste of his own medicine but she stamped that part out. Besides the story wasn't over just yet as while he was accepting his trophy and prize the monsters attacked. The Super Fight was targeted specifically by a group of monsters. Why? Because the leader of this group of monsters was Gouketsu the first Super Fight champion who became a monster himself and joined a group called the Monster Association.
What!?
He went on to explain that this Monster Association found a way to turn humans into monsters by eating something called a monster cell. The contestants were given an ultimatum: eat the monster cell and become monsters or die. To her anger and disgust a few of them actually took up the offer and became monsters. Of course Suiryu didn't and went on to destroy the ones who did. Most of them literally went down with a single hit but one of them gave him some trouble. In the end though he was victorious and went on to fight Gouketsu.
And this is where the story took a turn for the worst for her brother.
If Tomoro had countered Suiryu's every move then Gouketsu dominated him. The way how Suiryu described it he was completely and utterly outmatched and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Then to make matters worse the only other person who could possible aid him decided to become a monster too. The only reason why Suiryu wasn't dead was because he was saved twice.
The first were by the two pro heroes and the next was by Tomoro who up until that point had mysteriously disappeared. And his first act after appearing was to brutally destroy the monsterized Bakuzan before whisking everyone away from Gouketsu's wrath. After that he used some kind of technique to heal everyone's injuries and went off to confront Gouketsu. Suiryu decided to tag along because he felt indebted to the man to help even if it was against his better judgment.
Suiko didn't know if she would be able to make that decision if she were put in her brother's shoes. Suiryu tried to describe the fight that happened in as much detail as possible but he couldn't. Tomoro and Gouketsu were moving so fast and were at such a higher level in martial arts mastery that Suiryu could not perceive or understand most of what was happening. In the end Tomoro claimed victory and literally erased Gouketsu from existence.
Suiko didn't know if Suiryu was exaggerating or not and she was afraid to ask for further clarification. In any case after his victory Suiryu approached him with a request to be his disciple. He was rejected and instead advised to completely master the Void Fist using any notes and scrolls his grandfather left for him. The same notes and scrolls Suiko knew her brother deliberately ignored out of spite.
Suiko was not oblivious to the relationship Suiryu had with their grandfather and she was genuinely happy that he was now going to look through them. Other than that Tomoro revealed that he has not only fought their grandfather before but he won their fight. Suiko looked how her brother felt at the time after that bomb was dropped.
And why wouldn't she be!?
Suicho was said to be in the same league as Bang from the Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist in his prime. How could he have beaten him? More importantly if he did then why has Suiko never heard of him before? She exclaimed this and got the answer that she has but her brother was keeping that bit of information to himself. For it turns out that this Tomoro was in fact Shiva the destroyer.
Shiva, the destroyer.
She's heard the stories from her grandfather about how in the distant past a single man succeeded in climbing his way to the top of the martial arts world. How he became the undisputed King of Martial Arts by challenging every single martial arts master of every martial arts style in the world and defeating them. They called him destroyer due to how he systematically destroyed some of his opponents, their styles, their spirit and the entire martial arts hierarchy in a matter of a few short years.
And her brother not only befriended this Legendary Grandmaster but managed to get his contact information and permission to exchange pointers which was a fancy term for sparring and receiving advice from a senior.
"So when are we going to meet him?" Suiko asked excitedly after he recounted his tale
"Uh…" the question caught Suiryu off guard.
They were done with dinner now and had just finished washing the plates when she sprung the question on him.
"Come on, it's not like you're not going to ask him to teach you stuff" Suiko rolled her eyes.
"I know that but-"
"Then obviously you're going to invite him over or go to his place"
"I think you're jumping to conclu-"
"And when you do you're going to introduce your cute younger sister to him."
Suiryu was giving her deadpan look "you just want to meet him don't you?"
"Nooo, why would I ever want to meet a Grandmaster straight out of legend who managed to beat grandpa and all the old grandmasters and is offering to lend us his sage-like wisdom in the pursuit of complete mastery of our Void Fist martial arts?"
"When you put it like that-"
"I mean it's not like I've been stuck studying in school, paying the bills and generally being a responsible adult while my slacker brother has been off lazing and womanizing about to focus much on my martial arts and whenever I spar with my unambitious brother he doesn't take it seriously enough for me to gauge if I'm getting stronger or not."
"…I'll uh, call him tomorrow and introduce you."
"Thank you~"
Present…
That was yesterday and as Suiryu made the call Suiko was there looming over his shoulder to ensure that he didn't mess it up. This would be her chance to meet a legendary grandmaster and finally, finally have some real guidance in her life. Oh sure fighting a bunch of monsters and getting praised by the heroes, civilians and the Hero Association felt good but as her brother demonstrated there were still stronger and more terrifying things out there. And just to be clear Suiko is looking for a second opinion on her skills and who better to give it than a man once called the 'King of the martial arts world?'
The phone hung up and Suiko looked to her brother whose expression was contemplative "soo~ what did he say?"
"He says that we're welcome to visit later in the evening. Apparently he's moving out of his old apartment and is throwing a party."
Suiko blinked at that bit of news and her head cocked to the side "he lives in an apartment?"
"Not anymore I guess."
He sounded confused and rightfully so.
"Huh, I thought old guys like him would live in some kind of dojo out in the woods or something."
At that her brother started seeming to realize something "about that…" he trailed off.
"What?"
"He actually doesn't look that old."
"Well I mean if he's been practicing martial arts then he should be in great shape."
"No I mean Tomoro doesn't look old at all. He looks like he's in his late twenties."
Suiko's brows furrowed in confusion "that doesn't make sense."
"I know."
"So what he's pretending to be Shiva?"
"Not unless Gouketsu was in on it" Suiryu countered.
"Maybe he just looks like him. He could be one of Shiva's relatives, like a grandson."
Suiryu seemed to ponder this for a while before shaking his head "I guess it doesn't matter."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? This guy could be a fraud!"
"Well even if he's pretending to be Shiva, his martial arts skills are the real deal" and the look in Suiryu's eyes meant he believed it wholesale.
Suiko didn't like it, the idea that someone would pretend to be a legendary figure and for what?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Suiryu ruffling her head "hey!"
Suiryu grinned down at her "we'll find out the truth in a few hours anyway."
She swatted his hand away with a scowl "fine whatever."
"Great, I gotta go."
"What, why?"
"I left my trophy and winnings from the tournament back in City B, I'm gonna go get it."
"Ugh, I don't know why they don't just wire the money, seems a lot faster...and safer."
Suiryu shrugged "eh, I like having actual cash to spend plus anyone dumb enough to try and rob a martial arts champion deserves what's coming to them and if the winner isn't strong enough to protect their winnings then they deserve to get robbed."
"Wow" Suiko deadpanned.
"What? It's the truth."
Shaking her Suiko began walking off with a waved of her hand "whatever you say bro I'm going out."
"Where are you going?"
Giving him a cheeky grin she replied "out on patrol."
"You're really serious about this hero thing aren't you?"
"Of course I am!"
And then she was gone.
Against that giant octopus Death Gatling had risked his life hidding himself nearby in the rubble of its rampage to assess the monster's weakness and create a plan of attack. To that end he even called in reinforcements in the form of five additional A-Class heroes. With them gathered he outlined its weakness which was just his general observation and before the assembled A-Class heroes could even begin their assault Flashy Flash strode in and proceeded to run roughshod over their operation.
The S-Class hero insulted Death Gatling by calling his strength 'half assed,' ignored Smile Man's attempt at having them cooperate as fellow heroes and proceeded to make things worse by slashing out the octopus' eyes. Flashy Flash claimed that there was no need to 'analyze' that the eyes would be a weak spot since it would be for anyone.
But that wasn't the plan.
The eyes were just meant to be a starting point and a proper plan would be made as they attacked it to get a proper assessment of its strength, figure out patterns and exploit a debilitating weakness that would put it down. The monster was huge, got bigger the more concrete it consumed and had many tentacles with which to attack with. And the S-Class hero's plan was to cut out its eyes, of course the thing would go berserk and start flailing around wildly.
And that flailing resulted in even more collateral damage while also putting everyone present in mortal danger. Luckily (or not) they were all saved by the arrival of the Tornado of Terror which Death Gatling is half sure was incidental since her idea of saving them is to yoink the giant monster in the air then literally squeeze it into a ball and unceremoniously drop it. So now they were forced to dodge hundreds of gallons of blood raining down on them as well as the balled up corpse of a giant octopus.
All of that could be tolerated to a certain point but then owing to her infamous attitude the Tornado of Terror started running her mouth. She criticized them for 'lurking around' as if they weren't fighting that monster, got into a pissing contest with Flashy Flash that could have potentially escalated to disastrous effect, called everyone useless then left with Flashy Flash following suit. They just left without even sparing any of their fellow heroes a second glance.
In that moment he thought the A-Class heroes had lost their relevancy but that wasn't quite right. The A-Class heroes weren't even factors to begin with and nothing demonstrates this more than the following day. The Monster Association had done a lot more than just launch a global attack, they went out of their way to undermine the Hero Association and the heroes themselves.
Death Gatling wasn't the easiest person to get along with due to his fearsome looks and the persona he crafted around it. This may come as a surprise but the A-Class hero actually believed in the spirit of heroism and he absolutely hated what the Hero Association has done with it. He especially abhors the way how they treat the heroes themselves. The ranking system only encourages infighting, sabotage and other underhanded tactics of heroes against each other.
Their salary was determined by their popularity which in itself is something that each individual hero has to build up himself with the minimum amount of assistance given by the Hero Association. Meanwhile the S-Class is given all the better treatments: a higher and fixed salary rate, free publicity via the Hero Association's PR management team, training facilities, etc.
It wouldn't have been that bad until you consider how conceited the S-Class are to their fellow heroes: arrogant, dismissive, standoffish, indifferent and uncooperative. Death Gatling hasn't met most of the S-Class in person but from his experience they are like an elitist group of individuals who look down on everyone else and simply don't care for anything but their own self interest. You will never hear about an S-Class patrolling the streets, helping the common people, doing interviews or meeting fans.
Yet the public adores them and the moment any one of them is mentioned every other hero becomes an afterthought.
It's sickening.
He tried to fight it at first and was very vocal about it but it never took. After seeing his protest getting nowhere and the reaction of his fellow heroes being mostly disinterest Death Gatling kept his peace. After that he kept to himself and worked alone mostly because his weapon of choice was a mini-gun with live rounds. It wasn't the kind of weapon one used in a team yet he did make comrades along the way. The heroes he helped and those whom share his opinions on how the Hero Association operates he befriended.
As the 8th ranked A-Class hero Death Gatling held a kind of seniority amongst the heroes, specifically the A-Class. He was among the first to join the Hero Association after its inception so he has seen a great many of the heroes back then grow. He has also many whose career or life came to an end but sometimes that's just how it goes. The point is that Death Gatling being the man who advocates for cooperation is able to call upon some of these heroes just as they could call upon him.
This is important for Death Gatling learned that the monsters didn't just attack wildly and there were many instances where the encounters spoke of some type of strategy employed by the monsters. For example Lightning Genji the 17th ranked A-Class hero in City D got taken out by a pair of Tiger level monsters who were immune to his electric attacks which constitute the main source of most of the hero's weapons and attacks. Then there was Heavy Kong the A-Class hero in charge of City W who was defeated by a monster calling itself Marshal Gorilla.
He'd also heard word that Blizzard of Hell fended off a Demon level monster that had mind control powers. He had his qualms with that woman but he knew for a fact that she was very protective of her people. Having them brainwashed and turned against her is one of the only surefire ways of getting an advantage over her in a straight up fight.
Clearly whoever was leading the Monster Association was employing strategies against individual heroes specifically of the A-Class so their members could gain advantage. Death Gatling had taken note of his observation and sent the message through the Hero Association's communication pipeline encouraging the heroes to stay in groups for protection. The feedback was positive and Death Gatling himself partnered up with fellow A-Class hero Stinger.
Stinger was young, enthusiastic and hotheaded but at the same time he knew his limits and was cooperative without being needed to be enticed. He was also a strong fighter owing to the fact that he was able to climb to the 10th rank in the A-Class after only six months of joining the Hero Association. Death Gatling was a bit surprised by how honest and earnest the kid was since most new heroes who gain his sort of popularity tend to have a huge ego.
In any case the morning patrol proceeded with only a few hiccups with the general public. A lot of people weren't satisfied with how the heroes handled things the day before. Stinger, the poor guy, tried to placate them but whatever he said only made things worse and in the end Death Gatling was forced to shoot in the air to spook the growing the mob. Stinger didn't approve but it was either harmless fire into the air or fending off an angry mob.
Besides they had bigger things to worry about than public perception. Garou the Hero Hunter was on the move and he had started the morning by taking out several heroes including Butterfly DX and Peach Terry. That gave them a general location if nothing else since the two A-Class heroes were paired together.
But while the pair was traveling to where the attack took place they got another update. Garou ambushed a pair of B-Class heroes Wild Horn and Pink Hornet then later on the A-Class hero Great Philosopher was reported to have been defeated as well. Great Philosopher was a hero in City Y which meant that they would have to double back the way they came to continue the chase. Or not for Great Philosopher managed to figure out that the Hero Hunter was heading in the direction of City H.
A warning was then issued to the local heroes Mushroom and Horse-Bone. Meanwhile Death Gatling knew that they couldn't continue with this chase otherwise they'll just tire themselves out.
"What do you have in mind?" Stinger questioned.
"We need to find out where he's hiding and ambush him when he least expects it."
Turn the hunter into the hunted but that was easier said than done.
To his credit things started off great in that despite his weakened state he was able to power through and defeated a pair of A-Class heroes with relative ease. The same went for a pair of B-Class heroes. It seems that the attack the previous day made the heroes a lot more cautious as he found most them traveling in pairs. That was good as it meant more heroes to cross off the list. Coincidentally he was almost at the 100 mark for heroes hunted.
Things took a sour turn however when he fought against a hero by the name of Great Philosopher. The fight itself wasn't anything much but he was informed by the A-Class hero that the Hero Association had actually put out something of a bounty on him. They gave out his description, a brief history, a list of his crimes from two days prior and bumped his threat level to S-Rank. Basically the Hero Association made him a priority target for their heroes.
Of course Garou didn't know this because the freaking Monster Association attacked the very same day the information was released and he was now no longer a priority. And to add insult to injury Great Philosopher and by extension the Hero Association assumed that he was part of the Monster Association.
Why would he think this?
Because Garou took on the name of 'monster' while hunting heroes specifically and it became known that the Monster Association was both hunting heroes and turning humans into monsters as well. His theory was that Garou was doing this as a way to join the Monster Association and become a 'real' monster.
Now contrary to his looks Garou wasn't a person quick to anger but that right there, that royally pissed. Him. Off. He could tolerate being upstaged, he could live with his brief moment of irrelevancy and he can even ignore the constant stream of news updates and gossip about the Monster Association but what he will not stand for was the trivialization of his mission. The idea that people thought he was doing all this just so he can join some monster's only club sickened him to his very core.
If this became the prevailing theory then that meant Garou will have to dispel this notion by setting his sights on the Monster Association as well. Garou wasn't on anyone's side, Absolute Evil made no distinction and he will carve that message into the very core of both the Hero Association and Monster Association by the time everything was said and done. But first he needed to take care of the heroes in City H. According to the news they were some of the few heroes who managed to repel the monster invasion which speaks highly of their strength.
'Here's hoping they put up a decent fight.'
Said review was also being spearheaded by Solaria Nova who was currently being held hostage by the Monster Association so really the Monster Association was again responsible for everything wrong in her life right now. At least she wasn't the only one who thought it sucked she couldn't officially sign up with the Hero Association because of this and so a compromise was made. Since the Hero Association was currently understaffed and with the threat of the Monster Association looming over them they were able to put into practice a not often used protocol.
Suiko was made an 'official deputy' enabling her actions to be taken with some amount of legitimacy in the eyes of the Hero Association. It also helped that said action will be taken into consideration once she signed up with them. This does include yesterday's events which will contribute to her rank placement in whatever class she ends up in. The only caveat of her new position is that she won't be paid fully (if any at all) for her services and she will need a registered hero to oversee her activities.
This was why she was currently on patrol with Mushroom and Horse-Bone. Things weren't going as how she hoped they would. There were no monsters to be seen which was both good and bad. Good because the city was still recovering from the attacks yesterday and couldn't afford more collateral from additional attacks and bad because Suiko was itching for a fight and was thus far gone unfulfilled. Compounding her downward spiraling mood was the fact that the only trouble they encountered was with the civilian population.
The public was none too happy with the Hero Association and since they couldn't voice their displeasure to the organization they decided it was better to take it out on the heroes. There were a lot of angry glares and grumbles as the trio patrolled. A few of the braver ones were more vocal with the criticisms and some idiot even thought it good to throw something at them. Mushroom and Horse-Bone being the veteran heroes acted very professional in how they ignored and placated them.
Suiko being a novice was less than receptive to the whole ordeal. She didn't blow her top as she was too well trained to lose her cool from crude criticisms by people who had no idea what they were talking about but she was highly critical of the public's reaction. She was especially incensed at their treatment of the people who beat the monsters and saved the city (and them) from total destruction.
How ungrateful of them.
The people were the least of her concerns however as after being confronted by and escaping a rowdier group of civilians Suiko sensed they were being followed. After alerting the two heroes they decided to relocate to somewhere away from the civilians. After a moment of privacy the trio was confronted by a lone individual. He was a tall young man with long silver hair done up in two prongs, yellow eyes and overall sharp features.
'A martial artist?' it was obvious from what she could see of his muscle definition and movements.
What was also obvious to Suiko was the predatory look in his eyes and overall aura. As he approached the man's attention were squarely on the two heroes whom had taken up positions in front of her.
"You two the B-Class hero Mushroom and the C-Class hero Horse-Bone?"
'This guy' Suiko's hands clench into fists 'is strong.'
The movement did not go unnoticed and for a moment Suiko had the man's attention. He seemed to regard her with interest before said interest was taken by the two heroes.
Specifically it was Horse-Bone who exclaimed "I know you! You're the Hero Hunter!"
'Hero Hunter?'
Whoever he is it's enough to scare the two heroes who were fighting a losing battle against a horde of monsters with brave faces.
"You already know who I am" the man mumbled and cracked his knuckles "then you already know what comes next."
Feeling like a bystander Suiko decided to involve herself here "hey, who is this guy?"
Mushroom gritted his teeth "just some punk kid going around calling himself a monster and beating up heroes."
"Some 'punk kid' eh?" the man, Garou, mocked "you know, Tank Top Master thought the same thing too" that got the two heroes to stiffen but it was his next words that him sweating "then I beat him black and blue. I did the same thing with Metal Bat yesterday too."
"M-metal Bat?" Horse-Bone whispered.
Mushroom was in a similar state of disbelief "no way."
Suiko knew who those two were especially, Metal Bat he sometimes would handle a few threats in City H every once in a while. She saw the guy a few times and if she were being honest he looked like a school delinquent, talked and acted like one too. But that didn't take away from the fact that Suiko knew he was strong just from the time she's seen him. Enough to give her brother trouble but that was some time ago and Suiko had caught up to her brother from way back then.
She's been catching up for a while now actually now that she was out of school. And now was the perfect time to test out how far she'd gotten.
"Let me handle this" Suiko spoke as she stepped past the two heroes.
"Suiko, no-" Horse-Bone tried to interject.
Suiko silenced him right then and there "it's clear you two aren't confident about fighting this guy so leave him to me."
"But-" Mushroom attempted only to be similarly cut off.
"Hey" she looked over her shoulder and gave a bright smile at the shorter hero "I got this."
The hero looked between her and the man before nodding hesitantly "fine, but I'm calling for reinforcements."
He attempted to leave, key word being attempted.
"You two aren't going anywhere!"
In an instant he lunged after the retreating heroes however he soon found himself intercepted by a flying kick. Her foot was caught however Suiko was undeterred and in one smooth motion twisted while lashing out with her other foot to strike at him. Of course he raised his other hand to block thinking that with her momentum arrested she wouldn't be putting much strength into her strike. He only realized his mistake a second before her hit landed.
Void Crane Stepping Kick!
*Boom*
Suiko saw the shocked look on the man's face as clear as day before he was blasted away and couldn't help but smirk a bit.
"They never expect the second one to be stronger than the first."
'Thanks grandpa.'
The man managed to right himself after a few feet and raised his arm up. Suiko could see the imprint of her foot in the dark material of his long sleeves and even if she couldn't see it she knew there was a bruise underneath.
"Never heard of a hero like you before" he commented no putting his full attention to her an ignoring the other heroes retreating from the scene "who the heck are you?"
"Technically I'm not a hero yet" she answered but was basically stalling for time "the name's Suiko Mr. Hero Hunter."
"Tch, look lady I'm only interested in beating heroes" his eyes sharpened "so stay out of my way."
Suiko suppressed the shiver she felt running down her spine and instead let it fuel her excitement "well too bad 'cause the only way you're getting to them is by going through me."
Shaking his hands out Garou went into an eerily familiar stance "suit yourself but just so you know, I'm not afraid to hit a woman."
"That's okay" Suiko settled into her own stance "neither am I."
There was a beat of silence before at an unheard signal both martial artists lunged at each other.
So enjoy this early release…
~O~
Yesterday…
Garou limped along the road bruised, bloodied and holding his side. Today he experienced his first defeat although 'defeat' would imply a battle when in reality it was more akin to a curb stomp. In his life he had only ever experienced such a thorough beating once and it was at the hands of his old master which was the expected result. His fight against Watchdog Man on the other hand was not only one-sided but also unexpected and Garou genuinely did not expect such an end result.
With all the hype surrounding the S-Class heroes Garou expected them to challenge him in ways that pushed him physically and mentally with his only options being to either overcome or die. Then his expectations crumbled when Tank Top Master and Metal Bat turned out to be meatheads who only knew how to flail around. They were the ones to set the precedence for his low expectations of the other S-Class. Garou will admit that he went into that fight a bit cocky but in his defense Watchdog Man was literally just some guy in a mascot costume.
How the hell could he take a guy like that seriously!?
And yet it was at the hands of this seemingly gimmicky hero that Garou received a true unexpected challenge as well as a brutal defeat. It wasn't just that the guy was stronger and faster than the other two S-Class heroes he defeated either. It was that he was like a literal animal that was more beast than man. Garou could read Watchdog Man's movements but when it came to adapting and counterattacking against him he fell short and the reason was quite simple.
The old man had only ever taught him how to fight humanoid enemies and in his pursuit of absorbing as many martial arts styles as he could Garou has only ever fought humans up to this point. Yet despite his injuries Garou had a wide smile on his face for today he had made a great discover in his defeat. His fight against Watchdog Man was the kind of encounter he originally expected from the other S-Class heroes and it honestly relieved him that they weren't all just meatheads that only knew how to flail around.
'My martial arts still has room to improve' and will definitely improve with opponents like Watchdog Man to fight against.
Garou understood that this path he set himself on would have him come across all kinds of enemies and he will eventually become everyone's enemy inevitably becoming the ultimate enemy of mankind itself. It was only a matter of time before he met someone whom he cannot defeat as he is now. He would honestly be very disappointed if it turned out to be so easy that his current skills were enough to fulfill his aspirations.
Because he knew this Garou took every opportunity to improve himself through his battles. Most of his opponents have contributed something to his evolution and Watchdog Man was no different.
'I hope you enjoyed beating the crap out of me because the next time we meet things will be different!'
"Hm?"
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices. It's been so quiet ever since the monster attack that it was very noticeable to his keen senses.
'Is it more monsters?'
He hugged the wall of a corner and took a peak only for his jaw to drop at who he saw.
'One-Punch Man!?' his eyes squinted because surely it must be a trick of the light or his injuries getting the best of him but it is him he's looked at his photo enough times to confirm it.
The strongest man in the world.
Now that he's confirmed his identity Garou became momentarily stuck on what to do. He was wounded and wasn't in any position to pick a fight let alone with the strongest S-Class hero. And if he learned anything from Watchdog Man it was that not all S-Class heroes are equals. On the other hand he knew an opportunity like this would seldom present itself again. One-Punch Man despite being very popular and well known was something of an enigma. There wasn't much known about him to the point where even the city he's based out of was a mystery. If Garou wanted to find him he wouldn't even know where to look or how to go about getting his attention.
The guy just pops up, kills the monster and disappears like a ghost.
Garou's fist clenched as suddenly his fatigue lessened, a rush of energy revitalized his body causing the pain and soreness to ebb away, adrenaline flushed his system and his instincts sharpened to a razors edge. Thoughts of his disastrous bout with Watchdog Man became a distant memory for Garou as his body continued to buildup in excitement. Losing wasn't an option, he just needed to approach this differently.
'Analyze his pattern of movements then attack fast and relentlessly. Aim for his vitals and don't give him an inch to counterattack.'
Once he conceived this plan he went over it in his head multiple times and made the necessary tweaks before memorizing it then committed himself to seeing it through.
'I can do this!'
Garou nearly sped off after him however for a single moment his eyes glanced at the person next to him and everything stopped.
'Where have I…'
Suddenly a memory plays out in his head one that up until now was mysteriously absent. He remembered it was a few hours after his fight with Tank Top Master he went to entertainment district in City Z. He knocked out a disgusting man talking some shit about being a 'frontline fighter' to score with some women. Then he came across another poser passing himself off as a 'big shot hero' so naturally Garou had to teach him a lesson. He wasn't a fan of heroes but he hated posers pretending to them even more.
Anyway he threw the first punch and it didn't hit, the man disappeared or so it seems at first. The next thing he felt was a presence behind him followed by a sharp pain then darkness. The next day he woke up on a pile of garbage disoriented with a killer headache and no memories of how he ended up there. At least that was the case until now and he distinctly remembered his encounter with an older man with sharp purple eyes and matching hair.
Garou remembered him but at the same time…
'Who is that guy?'
Garou wasn't familiar with every hero but if there exists one able to pull off what that man did against him he should at least be reasonably famous. Ultimately it didn't matter, what mattered was that Watchdog Man was not the first to defeat him nor even the second. The more he reviewed the memory of their encounter the more he picked up on a crucial difference between him and every hero he's fought so far.
'That guy isn't an amateur.'
That disappearing trick was a movement technique and a high level one if he managed to slip past his senses. Garou reached both hands to the side of his temples where he felt the pain before unconsciousness took him. Garou knew enough about anatomy to realize that the strikes targeted the parts of the brain that dealt with memory.
'That explains why I didn't remember anything.'
At least until Watchdog Man hit him so hard that it jogged his memory…and gave him a concussion.
'I underestimated him' Garou realized 'and he capitalized on that.'
The punch Garou threw wasn't his best. It was made to take out a civilian but even then if he proved to be a fighter than Garou should have been able to adjust on the fly. Instead he was taken out like some random thug on the street. It was fast, quick and the man knew exactly what he was doing, even going as far as to erase his memory of him.
This changes everything.
Garou may have been itching for a fight especially after a loss but he wasn't desperate or delusional enough to take on the strongest S-Class hero and an unknown martial arts master.
'Retreating is the only sensible option here' he turned back and took a detour away from the walking pair 'but I swear I'll get you eventually One-Punch Man' his teeth gritted 'and whoever the hell that other guy is.'
~O~
Present…
'This fever isn't going away.'
Garou woke up earlier that morning feeling like shit and he couldn't fathom the reason for it. Whatever it was had to be tied to his fight against Watchdog Man since that was the only time he was physically injured.
'I didn't catch anything from that freak did I?'
It was either him or that sludge monster.
"Ugh."
On his way back to the hideout he took advantage of the evacuation to loot the shops of a commercial district. He stole first aid supplies, food, water and a portable radio. The former three were for obvious reasons but the latter item was a spontaneous grab that he happened upon. He wouldn't have gotten it if not for that fact that during that particular day it felt like there were monsters rampaging about everywhere. Plus there was that whole confrontation with the group of monsters attempting to recruit him into their so-called Monster Association.
"Monster Association" he scoffed at the idea of joining those cowards.
Garou held no sympathy for anyone or anything that would involve kids in a battle. He may be a ruthless bastard and his plan may involve becoming the symbol of fear but he had standards. There was a more pressing issue with the Monster Association than just his personal distaste however. Garou hadn't really kept up with the news since he began his hunt so current events were a bit lost on him. He did remember hearing about increased monster attacks in passing but that was about it. Yesterday practically solidified the attacks as being part of some massive operation and Garou was now certain that those bastards were targeting the heroes specifically.
He was lucky enough to catch Metal Bat when he was tossed his way by the giant centipede and Watchdog Man killed all the monsters that went after him.
"Come to think of it even One-Punch Man and that other guy looked like they were coming from a fight" he mumbled before a thought occurred to him.
'Were any of the other S-Class heroes taken out?'
That was the question on his mind as he set up the small radio with batteries and propped it on the sofa. Turning it to a news station Garou kept an ear open as he drank some water. After listening for almost an hour he was about ready to put his fist through the wall.
"Those. Fuckers!"
Garou felt livid. The worst possible outcome had come to pass. For almost an hour straight he listened as all of the radio stations were reporting on the same thing, the Monster Association. They talked about how they swept in launching a sudden global attack across the entire world resulting in massive collateral damages, hero takedowns, prison breaks and monsterization among others.
What in the hell?
None of them, not one of those stations were talking about him. At this point Garou has almost taken down 100 heroes, he took out Tank Top Master and Metal Bat though the credit for that one was going to that fucking giant centipede for some reason.
"Fuck!"
You know what this means?
It means that all of his efforts up to this point were effectively rendered null and void. He wasn't being reported on by the news so no one knew about it, no one knew about him and so no one cared. Who the hell is going to care about one man's battle against the Hero Association when there's a literal army of organized monsters?
The same monsters that tried to recruit him.
"…"
Shutting off the radio for now Garou stood up. He was still sick but he no longer cared for he had more important things to worry about. This changes everything. Before he thought he was in a marathon with the Hero Association but now he was in a race with the Monster Association. If he wanted to make more of an impact then there was no time to laze about. The Monster Association had retreated for now and was lying low after such a massive attack. Heroes were patrolling the cities looking for remnants of their forces. Garou changed his bandages, downed a bottle of water and put on his shirt before leaving the hideout.
It was time to get back to hunting.
~O~
Up to this point Suiko's concern for her sibling had always been for the fact that he was a shameless, unambitious slacker and womanizer. In the past when their grandfather took them in and started training them it was obvious that her brother held no interest in martial arts. It was unfortunate for him that despite his attitude he was a certified prodigy and one that their grandfather could not let go. She would admit jealousy for him, a man who didn't want to learn but was so good that he eclipsed her genuine efforts with the bare minimum of his own.
Despite her best efforts and despite Suiryu's lack of effort he became a genuine master of the Void Fist and inherited the dojo.
And what did he choose to do with his skill and new position?
Absolutely nothing.
The first couple of years after their grandfather passed the siblings survived through the inheritance money left behind. Suiko was just starting highschool at that point while Suiryu was a dropout who spent his time slacking off, chasing skirts and pursuing momentary flights of fancy. Naturally Suiko had to be the responsible adult and pick up the slack until one day she did the numbers, found their funds were almost dried up and forced him to look for a job.
Instead of finding a steady paying job he instead entered a martial arts tournament. Not what she expected but the prize money kept them out of the black for months, possibly years if used marginally. Turns out Suiko wouldn't have to worry about that since her brother quite liked his experience in the Super Fight Tournament and went on to enter the next one and the next and so on for a total of seven.
Suiryu really seemed to take a shine to this and at the time Suiko liked the idea of him entering the tournament. It not only gave him something productive to do but also made him actually interested in martial arts. She even caught him training at one point! So Suiko decided to attend one of his tournaments and well that was the first and last time she did so. The whole thing turned out to be such a commercial clown show that she couldn't take anything she witnessed seriously.
Even as a young teenager Suiko could have beaten most of those contestants and her brother pretty much confirmed she could have been a winner if she had taken his place on that particular day. But whatever the money was good, her brother had something semi productive to do and she managed to finish high school without worrying about their finances. Actually with the accumulated winnings they were actually well off at the moment. It allowed Suiko to focus more on mastering the Void Fist
Unfortunately she could not allow herself to be totally immersed in it for Suiko was afflicted with the curse of responsibility and was too cognizant of modern society to isolate herself from the world to train in seclusion like her grandfather and the masters of old. Plus her brother was getting bored with the tournament scene due to a lack of challenge which meant that their unfortunate main source of income may become compromised.
Or so it seemed for in the last tournament her brother didn't participate something interesting happened and one of the contestants piqued his interest enough to enter again. Suiko didn't really care as she had her own worries with mastering the Void Fist and finding a source of income that didn't rely on the whims of her lazy older brother.
Then while she was out training monsters attacked and it caused such a commotion that she was forced to see what the heck was going on. What Suiko found were monsters of all kind causing destruction, attacking civilians and overwhelming the heroes. Naturally Suiko couldn't just stand by and watch all this unfold so she sprung into action assisting the heroes. It was Suiko's first time fighting monsters since the heroes of City H usually dealt with them.
So not only was this her first time fighting monsters but it was also her first time actually seeing heroes in action. Said heroes were Mushroom and Horse-Bone and while they weren't all that strong they were well coordinated and competent in their work. Suiko was actually impressed and she ended up tagging along with them to quell the citywide monster attacks. It was the most fun Suiko has had in a very long time.
Truthfully the young woman hasn't had a lot of instances for practical combat and her brother didn't take their sparring seriously enough to give an accurate critique/analysis of her capabilities. And she didn't really know where to even begin to look for other martial artists to spar against. It left Suiko in something of a rut when it came to her skills as a martial artist. So it felt really good to not only have a means of applying her techniques without fear or worry.
Mushroom and Horse-Bone were in complete awe of her whenever they engaged a monster. It felt good to be validated and Suiko now knew why her brother soaked up the spotlight in those tournaments. Being praised for her hard earned skills felt good, having people thank her for saving them or congratulate her for a job well done made her feel even better and using her martial arts to fight against monsters was simply the best. By the end of it Suiko was thanked profusely by the heroes and the City H branch of the Hero Association and extended an invite to join their ranks.
Suiko didn't really think much of the Hero Association or heroes in general. Not in the condescending way like her brother did but in the vein similar to how a person wouldn't think much of a police officer or celebrity. You see them sometimes and hear about them ever so often but you don't seriously give any thought to the profession unless in certain circumstances. Being extended an invite to join them was definitely one of those circumstances.
To that end questions were asked and Suiko left with a new number in her contacts. She was very interested in the offer especially if this was the type of thing heroes did. Fighting monsters, saving people and getting paid for it. Suiko wasn't very interested in the money but she was interested in not being a deadbeat like her brother and having a steady flow of income made the difference. It just so happens she will earn that money fighting monsters and saving people. So what if she has fun while doing it? There's nothing against enjoying your job. She would be a civil servant!
Needless to say Suiko arrived home with a skip in her step and a smile on her face. In direct contrast her brother arrived home dragging his feet and looking contemplative. It was such a drastic change from his usual self that Suiko postponed telling him about her day to ask what happened to him. Suiryu didn't give her an answer at first choosing instead to take a bath and change his clothes while she made dinner.
The two of them ended up talking during dinner. Suiko shared stories of her day first including her serious consideration for being a hero. Contrary to what she believed Suiryu actually supported her decision but gave a word of caution to her about the monsters she might encounter. He was actually quite adamant and somewhat passionate about the warnings and emphasized on her training rigorously if she accepted. It was so out of character for him and she got her answer as to why when he told her about his day.
Suiryu told her about the tournament and how this time around there was some notable persons of interests such as: two pro heroes, a former Super Fight champion like himself named Bakuzan and another man by the name of Tomoro Sazaki. He spoke of how he beat all his opponents with a single kick including the two heroes causing Suiko to roll her eyes because of course he did, how else would he entertain himself in those things?
He spoke of how Tomoro fought defeating two amateurs with simple moves, dominating the former champion with advance moves and brutalizing a straight up psychopath with such viciousness that Suiko cringed at the description. Clearly this man wasn't just another amateur and when it inevitably came to Suiryu's fight against the impossible happened, her brother lost. Suiko was more shocked that her brother would just accept a loss but it wasn't so simple.
Suiryu didn't just lose against Tomoro he literally threw everything he had at the man. All his incidental mastery of the Void Fist was on full display and Tomoro countered all of them with contemptible ease. Tomoro did a complete deconstruction of Suiryu as a fighter and found him wanting. Then by the end Tomoro gave him the win out of pity since he believed someone like Suiryu would benefit more from it than him. It was completely true but Suiko could sympathize with her brother that it must have been humiliating.
A small part of her felt just a bit vindicated that he got a taste of his own medicine but she stamped that part out. Besides the story wasn't over just yet as while he was accepting his trophy and prize the monsters attacked. The Super Fight was targeted specifically by a group of monsters. Why? Because the leader of this group of monsters was Gouketsu the first Super Fight champion who became a monster himself and joined a group called the Monster Association.
What!?
He went on to explain that this Monster Association found a way to turn humans into monsters by eating something called a monster cell. The contestants were given an ultimatum: eat the monster cell and become monsters or die. To her anger and disgust a few of them actually took up the offer and became monsters. Of course Suiryu didn't and went on to destroy the ones who did. Most of them literally went down with a single hit but one of them gave him some trouble. In the end though he was victorious and went on to fight Gouketsu.
And this is where the story took a turn for the worst for her brother.
If Tomoro had countered Suiryu's every move then Gouketsu dominated him. The way how Suiryu described it he was completely and utterly outmatched and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Then to make matters worse the only other person who could possible aid him decided to become a monster too. The only reason why Suiryu wasn't dead was because he was saved twice.
The first were by the two pro heroes and the next was by Tomoro who up until that point had mysteriously disappeared. And his first act after appearing was to brutally destroy the monsterized Bakuzan before whisking everyone away from Gouketsu's wrath. After that he used some kind of technique to heal everyone's injuries and went off to confront Gouketsu. Suiryu decided to tag along because he felt indebted to the man to help even if it was against his better judgment.
Suiko didn't know if she would be able to make that decision if she were put in her brother's shoes. Suiryu tried to describe the fight that happened in as much detail as possible but he couldn't. Tomoro and Gouketsu were moving so fast and were at such a higher level in martial arts mastery that Suiryu could not perceive or understand most of what was happening. In the end Tomoro claimed victory and literally erased Gouketsu from existence.
Suiko didn't know if Suiryu was exaggerating or not and she was afraid to ask for further clarification. In any case after his victory Suiryu approached him with a request to be his disciple. He was rejected and instead advised to completely master the Void Fist using any notes and scrolls his grandfather left for him. The same notes and scrolls Suiko knew her brother deliberately ignored out of spite.
Suiko was not oblivious to the relationship Suiryu had with their grandfather and she was genuinely happy that he was now going to look through them. Other than that Tomoro revealed that he has not only fought their grandfather before but he won their fight. Suiko looked how her brother felt at the time after that bomb was dropped.
And why wouldn't she be!?
Suicho was said to be in the same league as Bang from the Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist in his prime. How could he have beaten him? More importantly if he did then why has Suiko never heard of him before? She exclaimed this and got the answer that she has but her brother was keeping that bit of information to himself. For it turns out that this Tomoro was in fact Shiva the destroyer.
Shiva, the destroyer.
She's heard the stories from her grandfather about how in the distant past a single man succeeded in climbing his way to the top of the martial arts world. How he became the undisputed King of Martial Arts by challenging every single martial arts master of every martial arts style in the world and defeating them. They called him destroyer due to how he systematically destroyed some of his opponents, their styles, their spirit and the entire martial arts hierarchy in a matter of a few short years.
And her brother not only befriended this Legendary Grandmaster but managed to get his contact information and permission to exchange pointers which was a fancy term for sparring and receiving advice from a senior.
"So when are we going to meet him?" Suiko asked excitedly after he recounted his tale
"Uh…" the question caught Suiryu off guard.
They were done with dinner now and had just finished washing the plates when she sprung the question on him.
"Come on, it's not like you're not going to ask him to teach you stuff" Suiko rolled her eyes.
"I know that but-"
"Then obviously you're going to invite him over or go to his place"
"I think you're jumping to conclu-"
"And when you do you're going to introduce your cute younger sister to him."
Suiryu was giving her deadpan look "you just want to meet him don't you?"
"Nooo, why would I ever want to meet a Grandmaster straight out of legend who managed to beat grandpa and all the old grandmasters and is offering to lend us his sage-like wisdom in the pursuit of complete mastery of our Void Fist martial arts?"
"When you put it like that-"
"I mean it's not like I've been stuck studying in school, paying the bills and generally being a responsible adult while my slacker brother has been off lazing and womanizing about to focus much on my martial arts and whenever I spar with my unambitious brother he doesn't take it seriously enough for me to gauge if I'm getting stronger or not."
"…I'll uh, call him tomorrow and introduce you."
"Thank you~"
Present…
That was yesterday and as Suiryu made the call Suiko was there looming over his shoulder to ensure that he didn't mess it up. This would be her chance to meet a legendary grandmaster and finally, finally have some real guidance in her life. Oh sure fighting a bunch of monsters and getting praised by the heroes, civilians and the Hero Association felt good but as her brother demonstrated there were still stronger and more terrifying things out there. And just to be clear Suiko is looking for a second opinion on her skills and who better to give it than a man once called the 'King of the martial arts world?'
The phone hung up and Suiko looked to her brother whose expression was contemplative "soo~ what did he say?"
"He says that we're welcome to visit later in the evening. Apparently he's moving out of his old apartment and is throwing a party."
Suiko blinked at that bit of news and her head cocked to the side "he lives in an apartment?"
"Not anymore I guess."
He sounded confused and rightfully so.
"Huh, I thought old guys like him would live in some kind of dojo out in the woods or something."
At that her brother started seeming to realize something "about that…" he trailed off.
"What?"
"He actually doesn't look that old."
"Well I mean if he's been practicing martial arts then he should be in great shape."
"No I mean Tomoro doesn't look old at all. He looks like he's in his late twenties."
Suiko's brows furrowed in confusion "that doesn't make sense."
"I know."
"So what he's pretending to be Shiva?"
"Not unless Gouketsu was in on it" Suiryu countered.
"Maybe he just looks like him. He could be one of Shiva's relatives, like a grandson."
Suiryu seemed to ponder this for a while before shaking his head "I guess it doesn't matter."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? This guy could be a fraud!"
"Well even if he's pretending to be Shiva, his martial arts skills are the real deal" and the look in Suiryu's eyes meant he believed it wholesale.
Suiko didn't like it, the idea that someone would pretend to be a legendary figure and for what?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Suiryu ruffling her head "hey!"
Suiryu grinned down at her "we'll find out the truth in a few hours anyway."
She swatted his hand away with a scowl "fine whatever."
"Great, I gotta go."
"What, why?"
"I left my trophy and winnings from the tournament back in City B, I'm gonna go get it."
"Ugh, I don't know why they don't just wire the money, seems a lot faster...and safer."
Suiryu shrugged "eh, I like having actual cash to spend plus anyone dumb enough to try and rob a martial arts champion deserves what's coming to them and if the winner isn't strong enough to protect their winnings then they deserve to get robbed."
"Wow" Suiko deadpanned.
"What? It's the truth."
Shaking her Suiko began walking off with a waved of her hand "whatever you say bro I'm going out."
"Where are you going?"
Giving him a cheeky grin she replied "out on patrol."
"You're really serious about this hero thing aren't you?"
"Of course I am!"
And then she was gone.
~O~
Death Gatling was a man on a mission. The crisis that befell the Hero Association and humanity as a whole has appeared in the form of the Monster Association. He like many other heroes had fought off the sudden attack as best they could but in the end they were found wanting. At least the heroes who were below the S-Class were. Just thinking about that accursed class had the A-Class hero growl in anger. The humiliation of yesterday's encounter still stung like an untreated wound.
Against that giant octopus Death Gatling had risked his life hidding himself nearby in the rubble of its rampage to assess the monster's weakness and create a plan of attack. To that end he even called in reinforcements in the form of five additional A-Class heroes. With them gathered he outlined its weakness which was just his general observation and before the assembled A-Class heroes could even begin their assault Flashy Flash strode in and proceeded to run roughshod over their operation.
The S-Class hero insulted Death Gatling by calling his strength 'half assed,' ignored Smile Man's attempt at having them cooperate as fellow heroes and proceeded to make things worse by slashing out the octopus' eyes. Flashy Flash claimed that there was no need to 'analyze' that the eyes would be a weak spot since it would be for anyone.
But that wasn't the plan.
The eyes were just meant to be a starting point and a proper plan would be made as they attacked it to get a proper assessment of its strength, figure out patterns and exploit a debilitating weakness that would put it down. The monster was huge, got bigger the more concrete it consumed and had many tentacles with which to attack with. And the S-Class hero's plan was to cut out its eyes, of course the thing would go berserk and start flailing around wildly.
And that flailing resulted in even more collateral damage while also putting everyone present in mortal danger. Luckily (or not) they were all saved by the arrival of the Tornado of Terror which Death Gatling is half sure was incidental since her idea of saving them is to yoink the giant monster in the air then literally squeeze it into a ball and unceremoniously drop it. So now they were forced to dodge hundreds of gallons of blood raining down on them as well as the balled up corpse of a giant octopus.
All of that could be tolerated to a certain point but then owing to her infamous attitude the Tornado of Terror started running her mouth. She criticized them for 'lurking around' as if they weren't fighting that monster, got into a pissing contest with Flashy Flash that could have potentially escalated to disastrous effect, called everyone useless then left with Flashy Flash following suit. They just left without even sparing any of their fellow heroes a second glance.
In that moment he thought the A-Class heroes had lost their relevancy but that wasn't quite right. The A-Class heroes weren't even factors to begin with and nothing demonstrates this more than the following day. The Monster Association had done a lot more than just launch a global attack, they went out of their way to undermine the Hero Association and the heroes themselves.
Death Gatling wasn't the easiest person to get along with due to his fearsome looks and the persona he crafted around it. This may come as a surprise but the A-Class hero actually believed in the spirit of heroism and he absolutely hated what the Hero Association has done with it. He especially abhors the way how they treat the heroes themselves. The ranking system only encourages infighting, sabotage and other underhanded tactics of heroes against each other.
Their salary was determined by their popularity which in itself is something that each individual hero has to build up himself with the minimum amount of assistance given by the Hero Association. Meanwhile the S-Class is given all the better treatments: a higher and fixed salary rate, free publicity via the Hero Association's PR management team, training facilities, etc.
It wouldn't have been that bad until you consider how conceited the S-Class are to their fellow heroes: arrogant, dismissive, standoffish, indifferent and uncooperative. Death Gatling hasn't met most of the S-Class in person but from his experience they are like an elitist group of individuals who look down on everyone else and simply don't care for anything but their own self interest. You will never hear about an S-Class patrolling the streets, helping the common people, doing interviews or meeting fans.
Yet the public adores them and the moment any one of them is mentioned every other hero becomes an afterthought.
It's sickening.
He tried to fight it at first and was very vocal about it but it never took. After seeing his protest getting nowhere and the reaction of his fellow heroes being mostly disinterest Death Gatling kept his peace. After that he kept to himself and worked alone mostly because his weapon of choice was a mini-gun with live rounds. It wasn't the kind of weapon one used in a team yet he did make comrades along the way. The heroes he helped and those whom share his opinions on how the Hero Association operates he befriended.
As the 8th ranked A-Class hero Death Gatling held a kind of seniority amongst the heroes, specifically the A-Class. He was among the first to join the Hero Association after its inception so he has seen a great many of the heroes back then grow. He has also many whose career or life came to an end but sometimes that's just how it goes. The point is that Death Gatling being the man who advocates for cooperation is able to call upon some of these heroes just as they could call upon him.
This is important for Death Gatling learned that the monsters didn't just attack wildly and there were many instances where the encounters spoke of some type of strategy employed by the monsters. For example Lightning Genji the 17th ranked A-Class hero in City D got taken out by a pair of Tiger level monsters who were immune to his electric attacks which constitute the main source of most of the hero's weapons and attacks. Then there was Heavy Kong the A-Class hero in charge of City W who was defeated by a monster calling itself Marshal Gorilla.
He'd also heard word that Blizzard of Hell fended off a Demon level monster that had mind control powers. He had his qualms with that woman but he knew for a fact that she was very protective of her people. Having them brainwashed and turned against her is one of the only surefire ways of getting an advantage over her in a straight up fight.
Clearly whoever was leading the Monster Association was employing strategies against individual heroes specifically of the A-Class so their members could gain advantage. Death Gatling had taken note of his observation and sent the message through the Hero Association's communication pipeline encouraging the heroes to stay in groups for protection. The feedback was positive and Death Gatling himself partnered up with fellow A-Class hero Stinger.
Stinger was young, enthusiastic and hotheaded but at the same time he knew his limits and was cooperative without being needed to be enticed. He was also a strong fighter owing to the fact that he was able to climb to the 10th rank in the A-Class after only six months of joining the Hero Association. Death Gatling was a bit surprised by how honest and earnest the kid was since most new heroes who gain his sort of popularity tend to have a huge ego.
In any case the morning patrol proceeded with only a few hiccups with the general public. A lot of people weren't satisfied with how the heroes handled things the day before. Stinger, the poor guy, tried to placate them but whatever he said only made things worse and in the end Death Gatling was forced to shoot in the air to spook the growing the mob. Stinger didn't approve but it was either harmless fire into the air or fending off an angry mob.
Besides they had bigger things to worry about than public perception. Garou the Hero Hunter was on the move and he had started the morning by taking out several heroes including Butterfly DX and Peach Terry. That gave them a general location if nothing else since the two A-Class heroes were paired together.
But while the pair was traveling to where the attack took place they got another update. Garou ambushed a pair of B-Class heroes Wild Horn and Pink Hornet then later on the A-Class hero Great Philosopher was reported to have been defeated as well. Great Philosopher was a hero in City Y which meant that they would have to double back the way they came to continue the chase. Or not for Great Philosopher managed to figure out that the Hero Hunter was heading in the direction of City H.
A warning was then issued to the local heroes Mushroom and Horse-Bone. Meanwhile Death Gatling knew that they couldn't continue with this chase otherwise they'll just tire themselves out.
"What do you have in mind?" Stinger questioned.
"We need to find out where he's hiding and ambush him when he least expects it."
Turn the hunter into the hunted but that was easier said than done.
~O~
When Garou set out on his hunt this morning he had three goals he wanted to accomplish. First he wanted to reaffirm his resolve seeing this hunt through no matter what state his body was in, second he needed to show up the Monster Association he found himself competing against, and third Garou just wanted to make himself feel better after a shitty morning. It just so happens that the only way he can do this was by beating up heroes.
To his credit things started off great in that despite his weakened state he was able to power through and defeated a pair of A-Class heroes with relative ease. The same went for a pair of B-Class heroes. It seems that the attack the previous day made the heroes a lot more cautious as he found most them traveling in pairs. That was good as it meant more heroes to cross off the list. Coincidentally he was almost at the 100 mark for heroes hunted.
Things took a sour turn however when he fought against a hero by the name of Great Philosopher. The fight itself wasn't anything much but he was informed by the A-Class hero that the Hero Association had actually put out something of a bounty on him. They gave out his description, a brief history, a list of his crimes from two days prior and bumped his threat level to S-Rank. Basically the Hero Association made him a priority target for their heroes.
Of course Garou didn't know this because the freaking Monster Association attacked the very same day the information was released and he was now no longer a priority. And to add insult to injury Great Philosopher and by extension the Hero Association assumed that he was part of the Monster Association.
Why would he think this?
Because Garou took on the name of 'monster' while hunting heroes specifically and it became known that the Monster Association was both hunting heroes and turning humans into monsters as well. His theory was that Garou was doing this as a way to join the Monster Association and become a 'real' monster.
Now contrary to his looks Garou wasn't a person quick to anger but that right there, that royally pissed. Him. Off. He could tolerate being upstaged, he could live with his brief moment of irrelevancy and he can even ignore the constant stream of news updates and gossip about the Monster Association but what he will not stand for was the trivialization of his mission. The idea that people thought he was doing all this just so he can join some monster's only club sickened him to his very core.
If this became the prevailing theory then that meant Garou will have to dispel this notion by setting his sights on the Monster Association as well. Garou wasn't on anyone's side, Absolute Evil made no distinction and he will carve that message into the very core of both the Hero Association and Monster Association by the time everything was said and done. But first he needed to take care of the heroes in City H. According to the news they were some of the few heroes who managed to repel the monster invasion which speaks highly of their strength.
'Here's hoping they put up a decent fight.'
~O~
Suiko's visit to the City H branch of the Hero Association revealed that she couldn't register as a hero. There were a bunch of reasons for this but generally they all fall under two umbrellas. First and most obvious was the whole ongoing debacle with the Monster Association the details of which Suiko has become intimately familiar with considering it was being blasted through every news feed. The second and less known reason was due to the superhero registry undergoing a review and until that was done new heroes cannot officially sign up with the Hero Association.
Said review was also being spearheaded by Solaria Nova who was currently being held hostage by the Monster Association so really the Monster Association was again responsible for everything wrong in her life right now. At least she wasn't the only one who thought it sucked she couldn't officially sign up with the Hero Association because of this and so a compromise was made. Since the Hero Association was currently understaffed and with the threat of the Monster Association looming over them they were able to put into practice a not often used protocol.
Suiko was made an 'official deputy' enabling her actions to be taken with some amount of legitimacy in the eyes of the Hero Association. It also helped that said action will be taken into consideration once she signed up with them. This does include yesterday's events which will contribute to her rank placement in whatever class she ends up in. The only caveat of her new position is that she won't be paid fully (if any at all) for her services and she will need a registered hero to oversee her activities.
This was why she was currently on patrol with Mushroom and Horse-Bone. Things weren't going as how she hoped they would. There were no monsters to be seen which was both good and bad. Good because the city was still recovering from the attacks yesterday and couldn't afford more collateral from additional attacks and bad because Suiko was itching for a fight and was thus far gone unfulfilled. Compounding her downward spiraling mood was the fact that the only trouble they encountered was with the civilian population.
The public was none too happy with the Hero Association and since they couldn't voice their displeasure to the organization they decided it was better to take it out on the heroes. There were a lot of angry glares and grumbles as the trio patrolled. A few of the braver ones were more vocal with the criticisms and some idiot even thought it good to throw something at them. Mushroom and Horse-Bone being the veteran heroes acted very professional in how they ignored and placated them.
Suiko being a novice was less than receptive to the whole ordeal. She didn't blow her top as she was too well trained to lose her cool from crude criticisms by people who had no idea what they were talking about but she was highly critical of the public's reaction. She was especially incensed at their treatment of the people who beat the monsters and saved the city (and them) from total destruction.
How ungrateful of them.
The people were the least of her concerns however as after being confronted by and escaping a rowdier group of civilians Suiko sensed they were being followed. After alerting the two heroes they decided to relocate to somewhere away from the civilians. After a moment of privacy the trio was confronted by a lone individual. He was a tall young man with long silver hair done up in two prongs, yellow eyes and overall sharp features.
'A martial artist?' it was obvious from what she could see of his muscle definition and movements.
What was also obvious to Suiko was the predatory look in his eyes and overall aura. As he approached the man's attention were squarely on the two heroes whom had taken up positions in front of her.
"You two the B-Class hero Mushroom and the C-Class hero Horse-Bone?"
'This guy' Suiko's hands clench into fists 'is strong.'
The movement did not go unnoticed and for a moment Suiko had the man's attention. He seemed to regard her with interest before said interest was taken by the two heroes.
Specifically it was Horse-Bone who exclaimed "I know you! You're the Hero Hunter!"
'Hero Hunter?'
Whoever he is it's enough to scare the two heroes who were fighting a losing battle against a horde of monsters with brave faces.
"You already know who I am" the man mumbled and cracked his knuckles "then you already know what comes next."
Feeling like a bystander Suiko decided to involve herself here "hey, who is this guy?"
Mushroom gritted his teeth "just some punk kid going around calling himself a monster and beating up heroes."
"Some 'punk kid' eh?" the man, Garou, mocked "you know, Tank Top Master thought the same thing too" that got the two heroes to stiffen but it was his next words that him sweating "then I beat him black and blue. I did the same thing with Metal Bat yesterday too."
"M-metal Bat?" Horse-Bone whispered.
Mushroom was in a similar state of disbelief "no way."
Suiko knew who those two were especially, Metal Bat he sometimes would handle a few threats in City H every once in a while. She saw the guy a few times and if she were being honest he looked like a school delinquent, talked and acted like one too. But that didn't take away from the fact that Suiko knew he was strong just from the time she's seen him. Enough to give her brother trouble but that was some time ago and Suiko had caught up to her brother from way back then.
She's been catching up for a while now actually now that she was out of school. And now was the perfect time to test out how far she'd gotten.
"Let me handle this" Suiko spoke as she stepped past the two heroes.
"Suiko, no-" Horse-Bone tried to interject.
Suiko silenced him right then and there "it's clear you two aren't confident about fighting this guy so leave him to me."
"But-" Mushroom attempted only to be similarly cut off.
"Hey" she looked over her shoulder and gave a bright smile at the shorter hero "I got this."
The hero looked between her and the man before nodding hesitantly "fine, but I'm calling for reinforcements."
He attempted to leave, key word being attempted.
"You two aren't going anywhere!"
In an instant he lunged after the retreating heroes however he soon found himself intercepted by a flying kick. Her foot was caught however Suiko was undeterred and in one smooth motion twisted while lashing out with her other foot to strike at him. Of course he raised his other hand to block thinking that with her momentum arrested she wouldn't be putting much strength into her strike. He only realized his mistake a second before her hit landed.
Void Crane Stepping Kick!
*Boom*
Suiko saw the shocked look on the man's face as clear as day before he was blasted away and couldn't help but smirk a bit.
"They never expect the second one to be stronger than the first."
'Thanks grandpa.'
The man managed to right himself after a few feet and raised his arm up. Suiko could see the imprint of her foot in the dark material of his long sleeves and even if she couldn't see it she knew there was a bruise underneath.
"Never heard of a hero like you before" he commented no putting his full attention to her an ignoring the other heroes retreating from the scene "who the heck are you?"
"Technically I'm not a hero yet" she answered but was basically stalling for time "the name's Suiko Mr. Hero Hunter."
"Tch, look lady I'm only interested in beating heroes" his eyes sharpened "so stay out of my way."
Suiko suppressed the shiver she felt running down her spine and instead let it fuel her excitement "well too bad 'cause the only way you're getting to them is by going through me."
Shaking his hands out Garou went into an eerily familiar stance "suit yourself but just so you know, I'm not afraid to hit a woman."
"That's okay" Suiko settled into her own stance "neither am I."
There was a beat of silence before at an unheard signal both martial artists lunged at each other.
~To Be Continued~
Get up to THREE advance chapters on my Patreon at: www.Patreon.com/Streggaeworks
Last edited:
verycoolname
Not actually cool
I like Suiko. She's fun. I can't wait for Tomoro to meet her. I'm also enjoying Garou's failings at the moment since he's still in his delusional, petulant brat phase.
Suiko is a treat and glad to see Suiryu being enthusiastic amd more focus for once! Looking forward to Tomoro training them!
ExploerTM
Ruin has found you at last!
- Location
- Russia, Perm
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Holy hell this fic is criminally underrated
You know that author is good when you genuinely have no idea what happens next. Will Suiko beat or at least repel Garou? Will she join the pile?
Was Nova conducting some sort of 9000 IQ masterplan or was she legitimately caught off guard? Pyskos received gift from the God perhaps?
You know that author is good when you genuinely have no idea what happens next. Will Suiko beat or at least repel Garou? Will she join the pile?
Was Nova conducting some sort of 9000 IQ masterplan or was she legitimately caught off guard? Pyskos received gift from the God perhaps?
Chapter 13
Two years ago, after his dismissal from the old Bang's dojo, Garou set out on a journey to seek out other martial arts masters in a bid to learn from and master their techniques adding them to his own to eventually create his own unique martial arts. The results of his time in this regard bore fruit as it turns out the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist was the perfect base for him to learn other forms of martial arts. After years of roaming the world he ended up amassing quite an arsenal of different styles such as:
Tiger Fang True Fist
Poisonous Ogre Fist
Purgatory Abyss Fist
Lone Fist of Prosperity
Pressure Point Killer Fist
Lake-Breaking Ice River Fist
Ultimate Fist of the Yatagarasu
Fool's Path Mountain Range Fist
Eight new martial arts styles learned within two years and at the end of the day he's resorting to the one he started with. Garou supposed it only made sense since unlike the rest of the styles he learned Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist was a superior martial art created by a true grandmaster whereas the others are largely ineffective and gimmicky monstrosities being peddled by weaklings pretending to be masters.
Near the end of the first year on his journey Garou came to terms with the fact that he may never find another grandmaster in the same realm as the old man and so rather than joining dojos to learn techniques he began attacking them instead. This turned out to be the right call since by that point his analytical abilities had been honed to a fine point enabling him to memorize his opponent's moves. Now he didn't have to be taught he just needed to fight and he's been going around challenging every and any martial artist and dojos he's come across ever since.
He won all his battles but it did not escape him that his opponents proclaiming themselves to be 'masters' were anything but and he was never able to find an actual master martial artist he could genuinely learn from. Even the touted Super Fight Tournament could not give him the challenge he craved especially since the ones he was after, Suiryu and Bakuzan, hadn't bothered to participate. The prize money was much appreciated though and helped with his expenses immensely.
Meanwhile his search to find true martial arts masters continued to be fruitless and he knew the reason why. The old man told him about the incident with a master that turned the entire world of martial arts on its head. A man named Shiva rampaged across the world defeating or killing every true master at the time until he became the undisputed king of martial arts. Ever since that incident the surviving grandmasters hid themselves away in fear. As far as he knows Bang and Kamikaze (Atomic Samurai) are the only grandmasters who went public.
Garou held a deep respect for the man named Shiva but at the same time he was annoyed because with the grandmasters hidden away he was stuck with second and third rate nobodies to draw skill from. He gained a bit of infamy as a dojo crusher something he would scoff at but eventually he felt he was ready to begin his grand undertaking. Garou expected to face a diverse array of opponents in the Hero Association but so far except for a couple of gimmicks and whatever Watchdog Man is supposed to be all the heroes are just your standard brawlers.
He hasn't met a hero who uses martial arts as more than just a gimmick for their image.
Until now…
"Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist!"
"Void Quake Tiger Fist!"
Two martial artists collide with two attacks from their signature styles. One a young man weaving his hands in intricate patterns to deflect, redirect and attack his opponent in the same breath. The other a young woman of the same age throwing what appears to be a simple straight punch, though looks can be deceiving as only someone with a keen eye would notice the slight distortion effect around her fist. Garou was one such person but he paid little attention to this detail confident in his skills and ability to see his attack through.
And why shouldn't he be?
He fought and defeated two S-Class heroes with these skills so surely a single unknown girl will just as easily be overcome right? This was his general thought and his confidence was unwavering so imagine his surprise when his hand, which was going to redirect her fist, was violently rebuffed and she continued to onwards breaking through his defenses until.
*WHAM!*
"GAH!" Garou spat up blood as Suiko's fist struck his gut with a twist.
Gritting his teeth he twisted his arms around her own like a snake to hold her in place then raised his leg to knee her in the face. Or he would have had she not preemptively heavy stomped his foot with enough force to break the ground and drawing a groan from taller man.
"Ah-OOF!"
His cry of pain was cut off by a follow up head butt that drew blood from his nose and dazed him. After that Suiko took a deep breath placed both palms on his chest and with a breath she pushed.
*Boom*
Garou flew for a moment but managed to recover after only a few dozen feet. Once he did he regarded the woman before him with critical eyes.
'What the hell was that?'
Garou has encountered practitioners of a variety of martial arts in his travels but none were like this. His Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist, touted as the ultimate defensive martial art was completely useless.
'Her fist was like a piercing drill! What kind of martial art is that?'
No more thoughts were registered as the woman charged at him with a quickness that almost caught him off guard. Almost but not quite and he was able to meet her in the middle. And beyond her ability to somehow break through the Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist she was also physically strong, fast and incredibly skilled. In any other circumstances she would have been the perfect opponent to cut his teeth against but not here.
Garou had a mission to accomplish and this woman was only a distraction. Also the sickness that had plagued him earlier that day wasn't getting any better. In fact he felt himself getting progressively worse as time went on. It was only through sheer force of will that Garou was even still on his feet let alone fighting against another skilled martial artist.
'Dammit, if I was in better condition she would be more manageable'
For as strong as this girl was she wasn't as strong as Metal Bat or even Tank Top Master. Not that she didn't compensate with her skill and combined with his flagging health meant she posed a legitimate threat to him. And yet despite the direness of the situation Garou couldn't help but plaster a smile on his face.
"Something funny?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Garou used a finger to block a nostril and blow blood out the other "I'm just happy I finally found someone who can put up a decent fight."
If only she was a hero but Garou can work with this too.
"Wish I can say the same for you" Suiko shot back wiping the smile off his face.
"What?"
"You're sick aren't you."
"What about it?"
"It's not going to be much of a fight since you're not at your best."
"None of the heroes thought that when I put them in the ground."
"I'm not those heroes."
'No you're not.'
The two adopted their stances however Garou decided to switch tactics and as they entered another clash Garou was on the defensive.
'This is perfect! Just need to analyze her moves. There we go, just like that!'
Meanwhile Suiko immediately noticed the change. As time went on the fewer hits she managed to score against him and it only took her a moment to realize what was happening and disengage with a curse.
"Shit!"
"Figured it out eh? But it's too late" Garou smirked and put a finger to his temple "I've already analyzed your movements. You won't be able to lay a single hand on me now."
Suiko scowled at his cocky attitude "wanna bet?"
Garou's smirk grew wider in its maliciousness "take your best shot."
Suiko leapt forward with a flying kick which Garou ducked and lashed out with an arm hooking his forearm around her leg causing her to jerk forward into what would have been a face plant had she not stopped her fall with her hands. Instinctively she flipped away just in time to avoid a sweeping kick to her side. Flipping to her feet Suiko narrowly managed to avoid a right cross only to falter against his follow up back fist. Despite twisting her body to minimize the damage of the blow it was still strong enough to disorient her something Garou took advantage of by pulling her into a standing arm lock from behind.
"I told you-" Garou attempted to taunt only to be abruptly interrupted when Suiko took a deep breath before launching herself backwards.
The movement was so unexpected and sudden that Garou loosened his grip on her arm to avoid putting any more strain on it. Still he block her attempted attack(?) by using his free arm. Now bracing against her back he had enough room to easily jerk his head to the side to avoid her attempt at head butting him. As her failed attempt had their faces intimately close together Garou was able to spy the devilish grin on her face just before he felt her free hand clamp onto his forearm.
'What the…?'
But before he could finish the thought Suiko, in an amazing feet of flexibility and strength did an axe kick in a way that guaranteed her foot would reach over her shoulder. Garou only saw the tip of her shoes before jerking his head back to avoid it. Unfortunately for him that was what she was counting on and the moment he leaned back Suiko capitalized on the action by adding momentum to the lean turning it into stumble that left him a bit off a balance since their hands were still locked around each other's forearms.
In the next instance Suiko leapt using her still planted foot and Garou found his arms suddenly lifted above his head. With a midair corkscrew turn Suiko managed to twist her arm free from Garou's clutches, kick off his shoulder and back flipped to a nearby tree where she immediately bounced off with such force that the tree broke in half and front flipped into a heel drop.
Void Meteor Heel Drop!
Garou hastily brought up his forearm in an overhead block and almost regret it. The heel drop was so devastating he felt it through his bones, his knees buckled as the force cratered the ground beneath him for at least a dozen meters. Gritting his teeth he uncrossed his arms and kicked her mid air but before she raised her guard up to block the worst of the impact. The blow sent her flying to the side where she gracefully landed on her feet with a grin.
"You were saying?"
Garou said nothing, the smirk on his face was thoroughly gone and as he shook the feeling back into his hands he assumed a familiar stance.
"This again?" spoke Suiko though there was no mistaken the weariness both in her voice and body language.
If he wasn't serious before he certainly was now and yet Suiko just couldn't get that grin off of her face.
'I can feel it, this next engagement will end it.'
She gave the universal come on motion and Garou responded by blitzing her to which Suiko stomped her foot into the ground "hyaa!" and with a yell kicked a massive cloud of dirt towards him.
Garou was too committed to dodge the action however unfortunately for Suiko if she thought it would dissuade him she was wrong as with a click of his tongue his hands lashed out redirecting the dirt before it ever reached his face. Not that it mattered for she already figured it wouldn't work, she only needed the distraction. Suiko had disappeared with his attention momentarily taken away from her however he became alerted to nearby noises and the ground shaking.
It was Suiko who had literally stomped a half circle around the young man and was poised to attack. Seeing this Garou turned to face her and at the same time she released her attack he did his counter.
"VOID REVOLVING TORTOISE FIST!"
"WATER STREAMING ROCK SMASHING FIST!"
As the two techniques clashed Garou couldn't help but mentally equate this scenario with the one he experienced against Metal Bat the day prior. Both the S-Class Hero and Suiko were delivering a rapid combo attacks while spinning like a top but that's where the similarities end. Metal Bat had just been flailing around however Suiko was executing near flawless rapid punches all aimed at his vital points with the skill of a master. Unfortunately the other disparity between her and Metal Bat was strength and power.
Suiko may have been the more skilled fighter but the S-Class Hero was much stronger and it showed. Now that he had an understanding of Suiko's martial arts Garou had a better time countering her attacks. Eventually much like with Metal Bat the momentum began to ebb and Garou found the opening for a counterattack but instead of finishing her off like he did Metal Bat he decided to do something different just to test something out.
So as Garou redirected the last of Suiko's attacks leaving her open Garou smirked and took a single stomp forward while cocking his fist back. The motion was immediately becoming familiar to her. Garou actually saw her eyes widen in shock and could make out the words mouthed on her lips before he let his attack loose.
"No…"
"Void Quake Tiger Fist!"
Garou's fist was planted right in Suiko's gut causing the young woman to cry out in pain and shock while coughing out blood. In the next moment Garou heaved and she sent barreling through a tree before skipping along the grass and slamming into another tree.
Garou held his position for a moment before slowly exhaling "and that makes 100."
Technically she wasn't a hero but she held clear aspirations to be one if she was hanging out with two of them.
And speaking of…
"I'll get the other two and call it a day for now-urgh shit, if I make it that far."
He'd been pushing himself for pretty much the entire time since he left the safe house but up until now it had been relatively easy victories. That fight might have just pushed him over the edge. He felt like keeling over then and there but he persevered.
'Screw it, I'll come back for those two later.'
All in all it wasn't a bad hunt for the morning. Crossed off a couple of A-Class from his list, hit the 100 mark, got a decent fight and a new (and useful) martial art out of it.
'Void Fist, that sounds familiar, pretty sure I heard the old man talking about it at some point' which was a ringing endorsement to him.
"Urgh."
The sound of movement alerted him and he looked on in mild bewilderment as the girl dragged herself on her forearms.
'She can still move after that?'
That cinches it if she was a Hero she would definitely be S-Class or close enough. She wasn't as strong as Metal Bat or Tank Top Master but was miles ahead of any A-Class he's fought and he's pretty sure she could give Tank Top Master a run for his money.
"Y-you" she gurgled blood dripping from her lips "that move...how?"
Garou allowed the smirk to return "I told you before. I know all your moves now."
Pulling herself to one knee she gave him a furious glare 'bullshit! You can't just watch someone do a technique and then copy it just like that!' she internally raged.
And yet that was exactly what he did because otherwise he would have had some experience in practicing the Void Fist which was impossible since her grandfather, the original creator, only ever thought her and her brother. And this leads Suiko to conclude that Garou must have been some kind of prodigy like Suiryu and that right there, that was
"Such…bullshit…"
Garou rolled his eyes and went to leave.
"Wait"
"I suggest you stay down lady" he warned "I was already iffy about wasting my time on someone who wasn't a hero so don't make this any worse."
Suiko felt a shiver run down her spine at the look he gave her and stayed stock still even as he left the park. When he left her sight Suiko let out a curse and slammed her fist into the dirt. She did this several times until the anger subsided and the adrenaline drained causing her to lean back on the tree.
"I lost…"
It was her first battle against a legitimate martial artist, a wanted criminal at that, and she lost. Worse yet she understood just how outclassed she was by the fact that he defeated her while clearly going through some kind of sickness. The fact that he allegedly took out two S-Class heroes had very little bearing on how she felt.
"This sucks."
No wonder her brother looked like a kicked puppy when he came in yesterday. This was her first taste of defeat in a real fight and she hated it with a passion. Eventually she paused and inhaled only to start coughing.
"Ow, something's definitely broken" she grunted before shakingly getting to her feet.
Make no mistake Suiko was absolutely livid she had lost and especially in the manner she did, having her own technique used against her. At the same time she took this as a learning experience and will use it to become stronger.
Another cough this time with flecks of blood mixed in.
'Right first get checked into a hospital then it is back to training.'
The Hero Hunter may have won this battle but he is far from winning the war he just started.
Looking at the two objects now Suiryu never felt as underwhelmed by them as he did now. He may not know what the future held for him now but it's safe to say that tournaments were no longer a willing part of it.
"Suiko is not gonna like that" he mused thinking of his sibling.
The last time he entertained the idea of not bothering with the tournament scene he was given a lecture as well as an in depth look into their finances. The only reason she let it go last time was because they were well off at the time and with her apparently pursuing a career in heroics they would not be hurting for money for a while yet.
Speaking of her decision Suiryu still didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand she's a big girl and he knew she could take care of herself but on the other hand the idea of her facing off against monsters on Gouketsu's level utterly terrifies him. The fact that she chose to go ahead with this decision during all this nonsense with the Monster Association only fueled his concern. Unfortunately there wasn't anything he could reasonably do about it besides warning her of the potential dangers involved.
"What a mess" he sighed to himself.
On his way out of the City C he received a call on his cellphone.
"Hello?"
"…"
"Yes this is he."
"…"
"What?" he straightened up "how?"
As the person on the other end of the call spoke Suiryu scowled "I'll be right there."
In the next instant Suiryu leapt away at top speed.
His frustration with the situation was affecting him and he refused to take it out on the younger hero. They failed to intercept Garou before he could wreak havoc in City H and now not only were two more heroes out of commission but a civilian got caught in the crossfire. According to Mushroom and Horse-Bone she wasn't any ordinary civilian and was in fact a skilled martial artist in the same vain as Silver Fang. She was also an aspiring hero who couldn't take the tests due to the current situation.
She was given deputy status by the City H Hero Association branch and allowed on patrol with the two heroes. That's why she was even present when the Hero Hunter confronted them. Despite both their claims of the girl's strength being equivalent to an A-Class Hero Death Gatling did approve of them leaving her alone. It is already well known that the Hero Hunter has defeated several prominent A-Class heroes and an S-Class hero already. In the end she was defeated and Garou went ahead with hunting the two heroes who called it in before leaving without a trace.
There was nothing left for Death Gatling and Stinger to do now but conduct an interview with the three and hope for something. One thing Death Gatling noted was that unlike the two heroes the girl looked relatively less harmed. In fact so far she was the only person to even remain conscious after an encounter with the Hero Hunter.
Was that a testament to her strength or something else?
Of course this was all relative as she was still bruised, bandaged and nursing what appears to be several rib fractures at the very least. Another thing he noted was that the girl was younger than Stinger looking barely out of her teens. The questioning he conducted revealed a few important details about Garou to the two heroes. First Garou seemed to only be interested in heroes and was reluctant to fight the girl because she wasn't an official one. It seemed her provocation forced his hand in this particular confrontation.
The most important detail discovered however was that Garou was currently afflicted by some kind of illness. He didn't know how to feel about that because on one hand from the way it was described the Hero Hunter was weakened but on the other hand despite his weakness he was still able to fight and defeat several A-Class heroes earlier that day.
"If you're going after him you're gonna need a lot more guys" the girl advised with a serious tone.
"Noted" Death Gatling replied in a curt tone though Stinger was much more courteous about it.
"Don't worry about us, we know what we're doing."
Suiko held up her arms "I'm just saying, he said he beat Tank Top Master and Metal Bat so you know…be careful."
That put a damper on Stinger reassuring façade though now he looked mildly confused "he told you he beat Metal Bat?"
Suiko nodded "said he did it yesterday."
"But that's-"
"Thank you for your time young lady" Death Gatling interrupted "if you'll excuse us" and without another glance the A-Class hero exited the room.
Stinger offered his thanks as well before leaving to catch up to his partner "what she said about Meta Bat-"
"I know."
Metal Bat was beaten by Elder Centipede and a group of monsters that ambushed him while he was protecting a V.I.P. At least that was the official story the Hero Association put out publicly and shared in its in-house information network.
"You think they lied?"
"It wouldn't be the first time."
"But why?"
City S was destroyed by Elder Centipede and One-Punch Man ended up saving the heroes and a civilian that was unfortunate enough to be caught outside during the Dragon level monster's rampage. At the same time they lost arguably their most important executive who was now being held hostage by the enemy.
"To save face."
"What?"
"Think of it like this the Hero Association is facing major backlash because of the Monster Association attacks. Their public perception of them is at an all time low. Now imagine if it gets out that during this crisis another known criminal element managed to beat one of their precious S-Class heroes."
"It'll add fuel to the fire" Stinger nodded in understanding.
"Garou has been a long standing problem for the Hero Association for a while now. The first time he showed himself he caused that commotion at HQ and I heard Sitch wanted to mobilize everyone in order to take him out but Silver Fang managed to convince the executives to hold off on it so he could take care of Garou himself."
"That" Stinger shook his head "how do you know all this?"
"It pays to have contacts Stinger. In any case, this mess with Garou could have been handled long before it escalated to this but because the executives bowed to the whims of an S-Class hero here we are."
Down a majority of the heroes at a time when they were needed the most with Garou still at large and incapacitating more of them every day.
Stinger gripped his trusty weapon tightly "we need to find him."
"I know-" Death Gatling cut himself off, his posture went rigid and his teeth grit behind his lips.
Beside him Stinger gasped at the sight of whom just so happened to be standing in the lobby of the hospital "S-Silver Fang!?"
It was indeed the 3rd ranked S-Class hero and the subject of their conversation. The older hero's head quirked up upon hearing his name and he turned to regard the two A-Class heroes. Silver Fang was a deceptively frail looking old man with a hunched posture and both hands behind his back.
"Are these two young men acquaintances of yours Bang?" spoke the S-Class hero's companion who was also an elderly man with a balding head and thin long beard.
Both of them were individually older than the two A-Class heroes' age combined and yet there was no doubt in Death Gatling's mind that they weren't fighters of the highest caliber.
"Not personally" the aged hero replied "though I do know of them. You are the A-Class heroes Stinger and Death Gatling."
"Yes sir!" Stinger replied enthusiastically while Death Gatling gave a stiff nod.
Death Gatling would rather not spend time associating with the to elders but unfortunately his partner was star struck by the S-Class hero.
"Are you also responding to the distress call regarding the Hero Hunter?"
Death Gatling saw it, a sharpness entered the old man's kindly gaze "yes, have you heard anything about that?"
Before Stinger could blab something unnecessary Death Gatling stepped forward "the Hero Hunter already left by the time we got here."
"I see" Silver Fang sighed "we were informed that he attacked a civilian girl, is that true?"
Death Gatling unfortunately took some time to formulate a response which gave Stinger the opportunity to butt in.
"Don't worry Suiko is an aspiring hero and gave as good as she got with her martial arts."
"She's a martial artist?"
"Yeah."
"Do you happen to know what kind of style she uses?"
"I think it was called Void Fist."
At that the two old men shared a look "brother."
"Looks like your old student found Suicho's successor" the man now identified as Silver Fang's brother commented.
The S-Class hero nodded to his siblings before directing his attention to the heroes "thank you for your time, I won't hold up you two anymore so if you'll excuse me."
"Sure thing" Stinger nodded respectfully before the two elders passed them by. The younger A-Class hero could only look on in awe as they left "wow, did you know Silver Fang had a brother?"
"…"
Stinger turned to see that Death Gatling was no longer beside him. The older A-Class hero was exiting through the hospital doors.
"Hey wait up!" when he caught up Stinger found himself pinned by a glare from the older A-Class hero "w-what?"
"You-"
Death Gatling was cut off by the sound of his communicator going off. It wasn't the Hero Association communicator something Stinger noted.
"What's that?"
"Private communicator"
"Why do you have a-" Stinger cut himself off once he noticed Death Gatling's eyes widened with shock and urgency.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone spotted Garou."
"Really, that's amazing! Where is he?"
Death Gatling barely heard him, too wrapped up in his own thoughts. He sent a message towards the hero who spotted Garou a B-Class hero named Shooter an archer who was an expert long distance marksman. The hero was as effective as a sniper despite using the bow and was one of the few heroes Death Gatling trusted to tail Garou from a safe distance.
"He's tailing him right now. He hasn't reached his hideout yet but from the looks of it Garou's headed for City-R."
*WHOOSH*
Just then a gust of wind blew through the area causing Stinger to jump "what the heck was that?"
Death Gatling's eyes narrowed 'it almost looked like-no no time for that'
Shaking his head Death Gatling began walking away "doesn't matter, we're leaving."
"I'm here to see Suiko."
"O-oh um and what relation are you?"
"I'm her brother."
After getting the directions to her room Suiryu thanked and left following the directions until he came upon the room. As he got closer he could hear voices through the door that was left ajar. A moment of listening had him identify two additional voices alongside his sister who was talking rather animatedly. Opening the door Suiryu was met with the sight of his sister laying bandaged in the bed speaking to two elderly men one of whom was familiar.
"Oh hey bro" Suiko greeted "guess who came to visit?"
Suiryu ignored the two martial arts grandmasters for the time being to address his sibling "I leave you for a couple of hours then I'm getting a call about you being in the hospital because you got into a fight with a criminal. I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one."
"I was being responsible" Suiko defended "and what kind of hero would just let a criminal go anyway?"
Suiryu put down his trophy and suitcase with a sigh to look to the two older men who were content with letting the two siblings have their byplay.
"Master Bang, Master Bomb" the man bowed lightly.
Bang of the Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist was easy to recognize given how prolific a public figure is. His older brother however was not as well known to the public however Bomb of the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist was every bit the prolific and skilled grandmaster his younger brother was in the world of martial arts.
"So you are the successor to the Void Fist" spoke Bomb as he stroked his beard.
Suiryu could feel the man taking his measure and he could more or less predict his next words 'here it comes.'
"You have been slacking in your training."
'I know.'
"But not for long I assume?" added Bang causing Suiryu to look at the aged grandmaster.
"No sir" Suiryu replied.
"Your sister was just telling us about her encounter with my former student."
"Former student?"
"Turns out the Hero Hunter was once master Bang's student" Suiko supplied "which explains why I lost against him even though he was sick."
"Wait, he was sick?" Suiryu questioned with mild shock.
Suiko was no slouch so for someone to beat her is commendable but the fact that they were apparently sick as well sounded hard to believe.
"Apparently, it may have been a consequence for attacking Watchdog Man" Bang commented.
'That name sounds familiar.'
"Wait" Suiko turned to the old hero "he attacked another S-Class hero yesterday?"
"Yes and from what I heard he was promptly beaten and forced to retreat."
"Huh, I guess that must've happened after he beat Metal Bat"
"What about Metal Bat?" Bang questioned.
"He said he beat Metal Bat yesterday."
"Metal Bat was defeated by a Dragon level monster that destroyed City S in its rampage" the hero paused "at least that is what we were told."
"I don't know what to tell you" Suiko shrugged "he seemed pretty smug about it. I don't think he was but is there any chance he could be lying?"
Bang shook his head "Garou is a lot of things but he would not lie, especially about something like this."
'Garou? Where have I-isn't that the guy those two heroes were talking about?'
"Seems your Hero Association is keeping things from you Bang."
The S-Class hero could grunt in acknowledgement "thank you for your time young lady."
"It is no problem sirs-oh there is one thing I'd like to ask if it isn't any trouble."
"Go ahead."
"What can you tell us about the man named Shiva?"
Suiryu started eyes widened at his sister's question that came from out of left field. He wasn't the only one either as both grandmasters looked taken aback by the question.
Bang recovered quickly "your grandfather told you about him."
Suiko nodded "a little but I'm mostly asking because my brother met a man calling himself Shiva in the Super Fight tournament."
Now all eyes were on Suiryu and damned if he didn't feel small under the weight of their gazes.
"Impossible" Bomb shook his head "I don't who it is your brother encountered but it couldn't be Shiva."
In contrast to his brother Bang looked more contemplative "now brother let's not dismiss this just yet."
"You can't be serious Bang even if Shiva was alive I can't imagine he would be interested in such a tournament."
"Why don't we let the young man explain the situation first then" Bang acquiesced and his brother agreed.
And so under the scrutiny of three skeptical martial artists Suiryu gave an abbreviated version of his encounter with the man calling himself Tomoro Sazaki and all he witnessed of him. By the end of the tale both grandmasters looked shaken.
"It's him" Bang spoke.
"Impossible" Bomb still denied "it must be a descendant, his grandchild perhaps."
"In either case this person is clearly connected to him. He even knows that technique."
"Gouketsu called him Shiva" Suiryu interrupted "and Tomoro acknowledged it and they both acted like they met before when Gouketsu was still human."
The two brothers shared a troubled look.
While he wasn't as famous as the two of them now Gouketsu was a well known and renowned master in the past. It was also well known that Gouketsu's father counted amongst the first of Shiva's victims and the man was a survivor himself.
"Could the effects of monsterization affect his perception?" Bang tossed out.
"I don't know" Bomb answered then let out an explosive sigh "this is all such a mess."
Suiryu had not been particularly thinking about Tomoro for a long while now but faced with such scrutiny he began to question his validity and so made a decision.
"I-we are planning to visit him later today. If you want you can come with us."
Another look was shared between the two with Bomb stating "I am very interested in meeting that man's supposed successor."
"I admit I am very curious as well but we need to find Garou before he does anymore damage" Bang gestured to the bedridden Suiko.
"About that, he's probably in City R" Suiryu informed catching all their attention.
"How do you know that?"
"I overheard two heroes talking about it while I was coming in."
Bang thanked Suiryu for the information and the two left but not before Suiryu gave them Tomoro's address which should be alright considering he was moving out of the place.
When they left Suiryu took a seat "did I do the right thing?"
"What do you mean?" Suiko asked.
"Telling them about our meeting with him."
"Eeh" she made a so-so gesture with her hand "maybe?"
"I really hope this works out" Suiryu whispered to himself.
'I'll restart the hunt later tonight or whenever I wake up.'
That was the plan however the moment his base came in sight he saw that the door was open and there sounds coming from within. Once again Garou willed the fatigue away in order to address the situation at hand. Without any more preambles Garou entered his base ready to forcefully evict whoever was dumb enough to enter only to freeze up when instead of a hero he caught four kids rummaging through his stuff.
"What the-what the hell do you think you kids doing in here?"
Their reaction to seeing Garou went as expected.
"EEK!"
"It's him!"
"What do we do?"
"RUN!"
And with that one of them pushed another kid into Garou causing him to instinctively side step the boy while the others used the distraction to run away. Garou watched the three kids run at a genuine loss for words.
'What was that all about?'
Shuffling made him turn to the unfortunate kid who almost got shoved into him. For some reason it drudged up memories of the past where a young Garou was being shoved into the dirt by his so-called friends.
Shaking his head of those thoughts Garou spoke up "hey kid, are you okay?"
Said kid spun around to face him with a terrified expression causing Garou's eyes to narrow lightly
'This kid looks familiar-wait a minute.'
"Hey, aren't you that brat who was reading the Hero Catalogue?"
"Eh you're that monster loving old guy."
"I'm not old" Garou deadpanned "what are you kids even doing out here?"
"W-well um…" the boy muttered before trailing off into incoherent mumbles.
"Speak up kid!"
"Eek!"
Well that didn't work as intended since now the kid was crying.
Garou almost rolled his eyes and plopped himself on the couch "relax I'm not gonna hurt you or anything."
Reaching for a bottle of water Garou unscrewed the cap and guzzled the entire thing down in a few gulps.
"Much better" his attention turned back to the kid who was now sitting on his knees before him "hey what's your name?"
"T-Tareo sir."
"Okay Tareo" leaning forward Garou rested his arms on his knees "use words. What were you kids doing here?"
"Um, this was our base."
"Base?" looking around the place "you and your friends hung out here?"
The boy nodded "yes sir."
Garou leaned back on the couch resting his head on the backrest. Garou may not be a hot topic for news reporters at the moment but the Hero Association did put a bounty on him.
'If those kids blab about me then the cops or heroes might show up.'
"Um…"
"What?"
The boy flinched "y-you need leave…please."
Garou raised an eyebrow "and why should I do that?"
The kid was in tears again.
"Jeez stop crying kid it's pathetic"
"B-but…you…"
"It's not like I'm planning on living here. I'll get out of your hut after I take a nap. You won't see me tomorrow."
"Oh…" he hesitated
"Well now you know so scram kid."
"O-okay!" he got up only to fall back down "ow."
"What's wrong with you?" Garou leaned forward to see that the boy had a scraped knee most likely from when he fell after that one kid pushed him "it's just a scratch."
"It hurts" the boy sniffled.
"Wuss" Garou grumbled before reaching over to his first aid supply and pulling out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a band-aid.
Garou had no idea what the kid saw but it must have been something since he started to cry again.
"Knock it off with the crying already!" he shouted in frustration.
He wanted to get some sleep to recover not deal with this crap. Surprisingly the boy managed to comply and keep in the tears that prickled the edge of his eyes. He even managed to keep in a yelp from the alcohol hitting his scraped knee. After applying the band-aid Garou frowned, for some reason the memory of Tareo getting pushed by that kid as a distraction kept coming up.
"That was real shitty what that kid did to you" Garou spoke as he stood up from his kneeling position "they always treat you like that?"
It was just a hunch but the boy's silence was telling.
"Tch, they do don't they? Doesn't that bother you? Aren't you sick and tired of putting up with that?"
"…yeah."
The more he looked at him the more Garou could almost see a younger him and he didn't like it.
"Hey I'm gonna tell you something. If you don't want them to boss you aren't anymore all you need to do is get stronger."
In his childhood Garou was always bullied, always being bossed around and he didn't know why. He had no one to tell him things like this and he only found out later that all he needed to do was get stronger.
Tareo's response "but…isn't that obvious?"
"…"
Garou stared at the kid for a moment before abruptly breaking out in laughter.
"Of course! It is obvious hahahahahaha-ugh ow it hurts to laugh hehehe."
"Um, mister-"
Garou shook his head "that was funny. Thanks kid I needed that."
"You're…welcome…?"
"Now get out of-" Garou cut himself off as his gaze went to certain direction.
'Killing intent and it's not just one. Am I being surrounded?' from what he could tell that seems to be the case 'change of plans.'
"Hey kid, in exchange for treating your wound, how about you loan that hero catalogue."
"Eh, my hero catalogue?"
"Yeah, it's important" he said somewhat urgently.
"Um, okay" Tareo for the back of his shorts and produced the book "here."
The book looked different from the one he first saw him use. For one it was thicker and had a different color hardcover "is this the latest edition?"
"Uh yeah, I got it yesterday."
'Good.'
As Garou flipped through the pages he began rattling off questions "does it have all the heroes in the registry?"
"No it's mostly just B-Class and A-Class heroes."
'Well those are the only heroes I'd need to worry about.'
Stopping at a random page Garou noted something "they have info about how the heroes fight? Like special moves and abilities?"
"Not all of them. Some heroes publish lots of stuff about themselves for fan service but others just say no and don't do that."
"Hmph"
'Then they'd be smart' closing the book Garou used his finger to poke a hole in the metal wall and looked through the makeshift peephole 'let's see what I'm working with.'
Meanwhile Tareo looked on confused "hey mister what are you doing?"
Ignoring the boy Garou looked through the peephole 'four at the front.'
A-Class Rank 8 Death Gatling, A-Class Rank 10 Stinger, A-Class Rank 19 Lightning Max and A-Class Rank 39 Biting Fist Snek.
Going to the side of the hut he poked another hole to see 'two at the side'
A-Class Rank 27 Smile Man and A-Class Rank 36 Chain N' Toad.
'And two at the back' another hole was made at the final two heroes were found.
B-Class Rank 99 Shooter and B-Class Rank 43 Gun Gun.
'Eight in total huh' normally he would win easily but at the moment Garou was almost dead on his feet 'at least this catalogue has lots useful info. I need time to come up with a plan'
Unfortunately for Garou he would get that time as the heroes forwent their element of surprise in favor of calling him out with shots fired in the air for added effect.
In the interim silence Snek could not help but admire what was being done here. He couldn't remember the last time he was involved in an actual coordinated team-up that wasn't spur of the moment. What was even more awe inspiring was the fact that they were all assembled by someone most would least suspect to want to work with others. At least for those who did not know the man personally.
'This is quite the team you've assembled Death Gatling.'
Death Gatling the 8th ranked A-Class hero. Snek would never admit it but he felt more than a little jealous towards the man. The two of them joined the Hero Association around the same time. In fact they met each other during the tests but would not be officially introduced until a week later. Even back then the man gave off a brooding near anti-social vibe despite the fact that he was one of the friendliest heroes he's ever met if not a little standoffish.
He remembered Death Gatling being very critical of certain practices the Hero Association held especially the ranking system. Death Gatling actually saw the long term detriments of what a system like that would do to heroes and attempted to rally them towards getting the Hero Association to change it. Snek was ashamed to say that he ignored Death Gatling's call to arms (much like most heroes did). He was young back then, people cheered when he defeated monsters and saved the day and he was getting paid well for it. He learned never to bite the hand that feeds him and he saw the rankings as just another challenge to boost his ego.
Oh if only he could go back in time and slap his younger self upside the head.
After his failed attempt at getting the Hero Association to change Death Gatling laid low. The hero became more standoffish and barely spoke to any of the other heroes at the time. He worked alone and did not particularly care for public sentiment. He did his own thing and from what Snek observed he treated heroics like a job. It worked in his favor because years of work had him climb the ranks to the 8th place of A-Class. Meanwhile Snek ended up stagnating and was now at the literal bottom of that same class.
This was the first time in years since Snek even had a proper conversation with the man. He was sure after what happened back then that he was not Death Gatling's first choice. In fact he wasn't Death Gatling's choice at all. Lightning Max was the one to recommend the aged hero for this operation. He was the outlier here as the other heroes present were either the ones who stuck with him all those years ago or ones who hadn't joined the Hero Association until after that incident.
Snek could tell there was some lingering resentment in Death Gatling and Snek didn't hold it against him. They were friends once and Snek essentially abandoned him when he needed him the most due to his own selfishness.
"Fine, I'm coming out!"
The shout interrupted Snek's thoughts and he tensed as the hut opened to reveal a young man.
"So that's the Hero Hunter" he heard Max mumble
Some would no doubt be taken aback by his age but Snek knew better especially in recent times, age truly was just a number.
Refocusing on Garou the young man closed the door behind him and spoke "don't shoot at the hut."
"You seem pretty subdued, are you going to surrender?" questioned Stinger with a cocksure smile.
Garou returned it with a smirk "what are you talking about? I still need a place to sleep after I take you guys out."
"You say that but you're not looking too good yourself" countered Death Gatling "you really are sick."
Pretty much everyone can see it plain as day. The labored breathing, bloodshot eyes and cold sweat were dead giveaways.
"What, are you taking pity on me?"
"Just making an observation" Death Gatling retorted "we will capture you and escort you to the Hero Association where you will tell us your motives and accomplices" after his declaration he leveled his mini gun at the youth.
"Accomplices?" there was anger in his voice "don't tell me you think I'm working with the Monster Association."
"You deny it?"
"Deny? He…hehe…hehehehehehe…HAHAHAHA!"
In response to his maniacal laughter the others went into stances leveling their weapons at him to which Garou continued his unhinged laughed.
"What's so funny?" Stinger exclaimed.
"I don't know anything about accomplices but as for motives" he leapt up atop the roof of the hut to look down at them and after a deep breath yelled.
"Listen up heroes! I am Garou the one who will become the symbol of fear the absolute evil of this world!" taking a moment to inhale he screamed "AND WHETHER YOU'RE A HERO OR A MONSTER ALL OF YOU ARE NOTHING BUT FODDER FOR MY GROWTH!"
…insanity, it was utter insanity what this young man was saying and yet…
'Those eyes'
Snek felt his fist clenched at the sight of his expression. There was an unmistaken pressure emanating from that young man and for a brief moment Snek felt like he was facing down the Deep Sea King again.
"Take him down! It doesn't matter if you cripple or maim him but he cannot be allowed to leave this place unscathed!"
Snek could see Death Gatling's orders drew some looks from the other heroes, noticeably the younger ones but Snek understood why Death Gatling said this.
'He's seeing the same thing as me'
For a brief moment Snek met the scarred hero's eyes and a sharp nod passed between the two. It didn't matter what past grievances the two had, before everything they were both heroes whose job was to protect the public from monsters. Right now at this moment Garou may not physically be a monster but he was most definitely a monster in the way that counted.
Said 'monster' chuckled darkly as he assumed a stance. His body lowered to where it's almost on all fours, his fingers bent to mimic claws and his yellow eyes scanned the gathered group of heroes like a predator would its prey. And as he assumed this animalistic stance five words left his mouth that kicked off the battle.
"Let the hero hunting begin!"
In any case if you want to enjoy more of this story sooner then you are in luck because I have four Lengthy Advance Chapters available on my Patreon at: www.Patreon.com/Streggaeworks
Tiger Fang True Fist
Poisonous Ogre Fist
Purgatory Abyss Fist
Lone Fist of Prosperity
Pressure Point Killer Fist
Lake-Breaking Ice River Fist
Ultimate Fist of the Yatagarasu
Fool's Path Mountain Range Fist
Eight new martial arts styles learned within two years and at the end of the day he's resorting to the one he started with. Garou supposed it only made sense since unlike the rest of the styles he learned Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist was a superior martial art created by a true grandmaster whereas the others are largely ineffective and gimmicky monstrosities being peddled by weaklings pretending to be masters.
Near the end of the first year on his journey Garou came to terms with the fact that he may never find another grandmaster in the same realm as the old man and so rather than joining dojos to learn techniques he began attacking them instead. This turned out to be the right call since by that point his analytical abilities had been honed to a fine point enabling him to memorize his opponent's moves. Now he didn't have to be taught he just needed to fight and he's been going around challenging every and any martial artist and dojos he's come across ever since.
He won all his battles but it did not escape him that his opponents proclaiming themselves to be 'masters' were anything but and he was never able to find an actual master martial artist he could genuinely learn from. Even the touted Super Fight Tournament could not give him the challenge he craved especially since the ones he was after, Suiryu and Bakuzan, hadn't bothered to participate. The prize money was much appreciated though and helped with his expenses immensely.
Meanwhile his search to find true martial arts masters continued to be fruitless and he knew the reason why. The old man told him about the incident with a master that turned the entire world of martial arts on its head. A man named Shiva rampaged across the world defeating or killing every true master at the time until he became the undisputed king of martial arts. Ever since that incident the surviving grandmasters hid themselves away in fear. As far as he knows Bang and Kamikaze (Atomic Samurai) are the only grandmasters who went public.
Garou held a deep respect for the man named Shiva but at the same time he was annoyed because with the grandmasters hidden away he was stuck with second and third rate nobodies to draw skill from. He gained a bit of infamy as a dojo crusher something he would scoff at but eventually he felt he was ready to begin his grand undertaking. Garou expected to face a diverse array of opponents in the Hero Association but so far except for a couple of gimmicks and whatever Watchdog Man is supposed to be all the heroes are just your standard brawlers.
He hasn't met a hero who uses martial arts as more than just a gimmick for their image.
Until now…
"Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist!"
"Void Quake Tiger Fist!"
Two martial artists collide with two attacks from their signature styles. One a young man weaving his hands in intricate patterns to deflect, redirect and attack his opponent in the same breath. The other a young woman of the same age throwing what appears to be a simple straight punch, though looks can be deceiving as only someone with a keen eye would notice the slight distortion effect around her fist. Garou was one such person but he paid little attention to this detail confident in his skills and ability to see his attack through.
And why shouldn't he be?
He fought and defeated two S-Class heroes with these skills so surely a single unknown girl will just as easily be overcome right? This was his general thought and his confidence was unwavering so imagine his surprise when his hand, which was going to redirect her fist, was violently rebuffed and she continued to onwards breaking through his defenses until.
*WHAM!*
"GAH!" Garou spat up blood as Suiko's fist struck his gut with a twist.
Gritting his teeth he twisted his arms around her own like a snake to hold her in place then raised his leg to knee her in the face. Or he would have had she not preemptively heavy stomped his foot with enough force to break the ground and drawing a groan from taller man.
"Ah-OOF!"
His cry of pain was cut off by a follow up head butt that drew blood from his nose and dazed him. After that Suiko took a deep breath placed both palms on his chest and with a breath she pushed.
*Boom*
Garou flew for a moment but managed to recover after only a few dozen feet. Once he did he regarded the woman before him with critical eyes.
'What the hell was that?'
Garou has encountered practitioners of a variety of martial arts in his travels but none were like this. His Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist, touted as the ultimate defensive martial art was completely useless.
'Her fist was like a piercing drill! What kind of martial art is that?'
No more thoughts were registered as the woman charged at him with a quickness that almost caught him off guard. Almost but not quite and he was able to meet her in the middle. And beyond her ability to somehow break through the Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist she was also physically strong, fast and incredibly skilled. In any other circumstances she would have been the perfect opponent to cut his teeth against but not here.
Garou had a mission to accomplish and this woman was only a distraction. Also the sickness that had plagued him earlier that day wasn't getting any better. In fact he felt himself getting progressively worse as time went on. It was only through sheer force of will that Garou was even still on his feet let alone fighting against another skilled martial artist.
'Dammit, if I was in better condition she would be more manageable'
For as strong as this girl was she wasn't as strong as Metal Bat or even Tank Top Master. Not that she didn't compensate with her skill and combined with his flagging health meant she posed a legitimate threat to him. And yet despite the direness of the situation Garou couldn't help but plaster a smile on his face.
"Something funny?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Garou used a finger to block a nostril and blow blood out the other "I'm just happy I finally found someone who can put up a decent fight."
If only she was a hero but Garou can work with this too.
"Wish I can say the same for you" Suiko shot back wiping the smile off his face.
"What?"
"You're sick aren't you."
"What about it?"
"It's not going to be much of a fight since you're not at your best."
"None of the heroes thought that when I put them in the ground."
"I'm not those heroes."
'No you're not.'
The two adopted their stances however Garou decided to switch tactics and as they entered another clash Garou was on the defensive.
'This is perfect! Just need to analyze her moves. There we go, just like that!'
Meanwhile Suiko immediately noticed the change. As time went on the fewer hits she managed to score against him and it only took her a moment to realize what was happening and disengage with a curse.
"Shit!"
"Figured it out eh? But it's too late" Garou smirked and put a finger to his temple "I've already analyzed your movements. You won't be able to lay a single hand on me now."
Suiko scowled at his cocky attitude "wanna bet?"
Garou's smirk grew wider in its maliciousness "take your best shot."
Suiko leapt forward with a flying kick which Garou ducked and lashed out with an arm hooking his forearm around her leg causing her to jerk forward into what would have been a face plant had she not stopped her fall with her hands. Instinctively she flipped away just in time to avoid a sweeping kick to her side. Flipping to her feet Suiko narrowly managed to avoid a right cross only to falter against his follow up back fist. Despite twisting her body to minimize the damage of the blow it was still strong enough to disorient her something Garou took advantage of by pulling her into a standing arm lock from behind.
"I told you-" Garou attempted to taunt only to be abruptly interrupted when Suiko took a deep breath before launching herself backwards.
The movement was so unexpected and sudden that Garou loosened his grip on her arm to avoid putting any more strain on it. Still he block her attempted attack(?) by using his free arm. Now bracing against her back he had enough room to easily jerk his head to the side to avoid her attempt at head butting him. As her failed attempt had their faces intimately close together Garou was able to spy the devilish grin on her face just before he felt her free hand clamp onto his forearm.
'What the…?'
But before he could finish the thought Suiko, in an amazing feet of flexibility and strength did an axe kick in a way that guaranteed her foot would reach over her shoulder. Garou only saw the tip of her shoes before jerking his head back to avoid it. Unfortunately for him that was what she was counting on and the moment he leaned back Suiko capitalized on the action by adding momentum to the lean turning it into stumble that left him a bit off a balance since their hands were still locked around each other's forearms.
In the next instance Suiko leapt using her still planted foot and Garou found his arms suddenly lifted above his head. With a midair corkscrew turn Suiko managed to twist her arm free from Garou's clutches, kick off his shoulder and back flipped to a nearby tree where she immediately bounced off with such force that the tree broke in half and front flipped into a heel drop.
Void Meteor Heel Drop!
Garou hastily brought up his forearm in an overhead block and almost regret it. The heel drop was so devastating he felt it through his bones, his knees buckled as the force cratered the ground beneath him for at least a dozen meters. Gritting his teeth he uncrossed his arms and kicked her mid air but before she raised her guard up to block the worst of the impact. The blow sent her flying to the side where she gracefully landed on her feet with a grin.
"You were saying?"
Garou said nothing, the smirk on his face was thoroughly gone and as he shook the feeling back into his hands he assumed a familiar stance.
"This again?" spoke Suiko though there was no mistaken the weariness both in her voice and body language.
If he wasn't serious before he certainly was now and yet Suiko just couldn't get that grin off of her face.
'I can feel it, this next engagement will end it.'
She gave the universal come on motion and Garou responded by blitzing her to which Suiko stomped her foot into the ground "hyaa!" and with a yell kicked a massive cloud of dirt towards him.
Garou was too committed to dodge the action however unfortunately for Suiko if she thought it would dissuade him she was wrong as with a click of his tongue his hands lashed out redirecting the dirt before it ever reached his face. Not that it mattered for she already figured it wouldn't work, she only needed the distraction. Suiko had disappeared with his attention momentarily taken away from her however he became alerted to nearby noises and the ground shaking.
It was Suiko who had literally stomped a half circle around the young man and was poised to attack. Seeing this Garou turned to face her and at the same time she released her attack he did his counter.
"VOID REVOLVING TORTOISE FIST!"
"WATER STREAMING ROCK SMASHING FIST!"
As the two techniques clashed Garou couldn't help but mentally equate this scenario with the one he experienced against Metal Bat the day prior. Both the S-Class Hero and Suiko were delivering a rapid combo attacks while spinning like a top but that's where the similarities end. Metal Bat had just been flailing around however Suiko was executing near flawless rapid punches all aimed at his vital points with the skill of a master. Unfortunately the other disparity between her and Metal Bat was strength and power.
Suiko may have been the more skilled fighter but the S-Class Hero was much stronger and it showed. Now that he had an understanding of Suiko's martial arts Garou had a better time countering her attacks. Eventually much like with Metal Bat the momentum began to ebb and Garou found the opening for a counterattack but instead of finishing her off like he did Metal Bat he decided to do something different just to test something out.
So as Garou redirected the last of Suiko's attacks leaving her open Garou smirked and took a single stomp forward while cocking his fist back. The motion was immediately becoming familiar to her. Garou actually saw her eyes widen in shock and could make out the words mouthed on her lips before he let his attack loose.
"No…"
"Void Quake Tiger Fist!"
Garou's fist was planted right in Suiko's gut causing the young woman to cry out in pain and shock while coughing out blood. In the next moment Garou heaved and she sent barreling through a tree before skipping along the grass and slamming into another tree.
Garou held his position for a moment before slowly exhaling "and that makes 100."
Technically she wasn't a hero but she held clear aspirations to be one if she was hanging out with two of them.
And speaking of…
"I'll get the other two and call it a day for now-urgh shit, if I make it that far."
He'd been pushing himself for pretty much the entire time since he left the safe house but up until now it had been relatively easy victories. That fight might have just pushed him over the edge. He felt like keeling over then and there but he persevered.
'Screw it, I'll come back for those two later.'
All in all it wasn't a bad hunt for the morning. Crossed off a couple of A-Class from his list, hit the 100 mark, got a decent fight and a new (and useful) martial art out of it.
'Void Fist, that sounds familiar, pretty sure I heard the old man talking about it at some point' which was a ringing endorsement to him.
"Urgh."
The sound of movement alerted him and he looked on in mild bewilderment as the girl dragged herself on her forearms.
'She can still move after that?'
That cinches it if she was a Hero she would definitely be S-Class or close enough. She wasn't as strong as Metal Bat or Tank Top Master but was miles ahead of any A-Class he's fought and he's pretty sure she could give Tank Top Master a run for his money.
"Y-you" she gurgled blood dripping from her lips "that move...how?"
Garou allowed the smirk to return "I told you before. I know all your moves now."
Pulling herself to one knee she gave him a furious glare 'bullshit! You can't just watch someone do a technique and then copy it just like that!' she internally raged.
And yet that was exactly what he did because otherwise he would have had some experience in practicing the Void Fist which was impossible since her grandfather, the original creator, only ever thought her and her brother. And this leads Suiko to conclude that Garou must have been some kind of prodigy like Suiryu and that right there, that was
"Such…bullshit…"
Garou rolled his eyes and went to leave.
"Wait"
"I suggest you stay down lady" he warned "I was already iffy about wasting my time on someone who wasn't a hero so don't make this any worse."
Suiko felt a shiver run down her spine at the look he gave her and stayed stock still even as he left the park. When he left her sight Suiko let out a curse and slammed her fist into the dirt. She did this several times until the anger subsided and the adrenaline drained causing her to lean back on the tree.
"I lost…"
It was her first battle against a legitimate martial artist, a wanted criminal at that, and she lost. Worse yet she understood just how outclassed she was by the fact that he defeated her while clearly going through some kind of sickness. The fact that he allegedly took out two S-Class heroes had very little bearing on how she felt.
"This sucks."
No wonder her brother looked like a kicked puppy when he came in yesterday. This was her first taste of defeat in a real fight and she hated it with a passion. Eventually she paused and inhaled only to start coughing.
"Ow, something's definitely broken" she grunted before shakingly getting to her feet.
Make no mistake Suiko was absolutely livid she had lost and especially in the manner she did, having her own technique used against her. At the same time she took this as a learning experience and will use it to become stronger.
Another cough this time with flecks of blood mixed in.
'Right first get checked into a hospital then it is back to training.'
The Hero Hunter may have won this battle but he is far from winning the war he just started.
~O~
Suiryu can admire the organizers for the Super Fight. The stadium was utterly destroyed along with the nearby section of the city, people were in a panic about the Monster Association and it was looking like society was about to collapse and yet they still thought it prudent to not only give him his prize money but also his trophy. Honestly he thought the trophy was a lost cause considering he left it in the hands of civilians during a mass evacuation. He didn't think it a priority but they did and now he was the owner of a fancy trophy and a suitcase full of money.
Looking at the two objects now Suiryu never felt as underwhelmed by them as he did now. He may not know what the future held for him now but it's safe to say that tournaments were no longer a willing part of it.
"Suiko is not gonna like that" he mused thinking of his sibling.
The last time he entertained the idea of not bothering with the tournament scene he was given a lecture as well as an in depth look into their finances. The only reason she let it go last time was because they were well off at the time and with her apparently pursuing a career in heroics they would not be hurting for money for a while yet.
Speaking of her decision Suiryu still didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand she's a big girl and he knew she could take care of herself but on the other hand the idea of her facing off against monsters on Gouketsu's level utterly terrifies him. The fact that she chose to go ahead with this decision during all this nonsense with the Monster Association only fueled his concern. Unfortunately there wasn't anything he could reasonably do about it besides warning her of the potential dangers involved.
"What a mess" he sighed to himself.
On his way out of the City C he received a call on his cellphone.
"Hello?"
"…"
"Yes this is he."
"…"
"What?" he straightened up "how?"
As the person on the other end of the call spoke Suiryu scowled "I'll be right there."
In the next instant Suiryu leapt away at top speed.
~O~
"We're too late" Stinger pointed out and it was all Death Gatling could do not make a snide remark.
His frustration with the situation was affecting him and he refused to take it out on the younger hero. They failed to intercept Garou before he could wreak havoc in City H and now not only were two more heroes out of commission but a civilian got caught in the crossfire. According to Mushroom and Horse-Bone she wasn't any ordinary civilian and was in fact a skilled martial artist in the same vain as Silver Fang. She was also an aspiring hero who couldn't take the tests due to the current situation.
She was given deputy status by the City H Hero Association branch and allowed on patrol with the two heroes. That's why she was even present when the Hero Hunter confronted them. Despite both their claims of the girl's strength being equivalent to an A-Class Hero Death Gatling did approve of them leaving her alone. It is already well known that the Hero Hunter has defeated several prominent A-Class heroes and an S-Class hero already. In the end she was defeated and Garou went ahead with hunting the two heroes who called it in before leaving without a trace.
There was nothing left for Death Gatling and Stinger to do now but conduct an interview with the three and hope for something. One thing Death Gatling noted was that unlike the two heroes the girl looked relatively less harmed. In fact so far she was the only person to even remain conscious after an encounter with the Hero Hunter.
Was that a testament to her strength or something else?
Of course this was all relative as she was still bruised, bandaged and nursing what appears to be several rib fractures at the very least. Another thing he noted was that the girl was younger than Stinger looking barely out of her teens. The questioning he conducted revealed a few important details about Garou to the two heroes. First Garou seemed to only be interested in heroes and was reluctant to fight the girl because she wasn't an official one. It seemed her provocation forced his hand in this particular confrontation.
The most important detail discovered however was that Garou was currently afflicted by some kind of illness. He didn't know how to feel about that because on one hand from the way it was described the Hero Hunter was weakened but on the other hand despite his weakness he was still able to fight and defeat several A-Class heroes earlier that day.
"If you're going after him you're gonna need a lot more guys" the girl advised with a serious tone.
"Noted" Death Gatling replied in a curt tone though Stinger was much more courteous about it.
"Don't worry about us, we know what we're doing."
Suiko held up her arms "I'm just saying, he said he beat Tank Top Master and Metal Bat so you know…be careful."
That put a damper on Stinger reassuring façade though now he looked mildly confused "he told you he beat Metal Bat?"
Suiko nodded "said he did it yesterday."
"But that's-"
"Thank you for your time young lady" Death Gatling interrupted "if you'll excuse us" and without another glance the A-Class hero exited the room.
Stinger offered his thanks as well before leaving to catch up to his partner "what she said about Meta Bat-"
"I know."
Metal Bat was beaten by Elder Centipede and a group of monsters that ambushed him while he was protecting a V.I.P. At least that was the official story the Hero Association put out publicly and shared in its in-house information network.
"You think they lied?"
"It wouldn't be the first time."
"But why?"
City S was destroyed by Elder Centipede and One-Punch Man ended up saving the heroes and a civilian that was unfortunate enough to be caught outside during the Dragon level monster's rampage. At the same time they lost arguably their most important executive who was now being held hostage by the enemy.
"To save face."
"What?"
"Think of it like this the Hero Association is facing major backlash because of the Monster Association attacks. Their public perception of them is at an all time low. Now imagine if it gets out that during this crisis another known criminal element managed to beat one of their precious S-Class heroes."
"It'll add fuel to the fire" Stinger nodded in understanding.
"Garou has been a long standing problem for the Hero Association for a while now. The first time he showed himself he caused that commotion at HQ and I heard Sitch wanted to mobilize everyone in order to take him out but Silver Fang managed to convince the executives to hold off on it so he could take care of Garou himself."
"That" Stinger shook his head "how do you know all this?"
"It pays to have contacts Stinger. In any case, this mess with Garou could have been handled long before it escalated to this but because the executives bowed to the whims of an S-Class hero here we are."
Down a majority of the heroes at a time when they were needed the most with Garou still at large and incapacitating more of them every day.
Stinger gripped his trusty weapon tightly "we need to find him."
"I know-" Death Gatling cut himself off, his posture went rigid and his teeth grit behind his lips.
Beside him Stinger gasped at the sight of whom just so happened to be standing in the lobby of the hospital "S-Silver Fang!?"
It was indeed the 3rd ranked S-Class hero and the subject of their conversation. The older hero's head quirked up upon hearing his name and he turned to regard the two A-Class heroes. Silver Fang was a deceptively frail looking old man with a hunched posture and both hands behind his back.
"Are these two young men acquaintances of yours Bang?" spoke the S-Class hero's companion who was also an elderly man with a balding head and thin long beard.
Both of them were individually older than the two A-Class heroes' age combined and yet there was no doubt in Death Gatling's mind that they weren't fighters of the highest caliber.
"Not personally" the aged hero replied "though I do know of them. You are the A-Class heroes Stinger and Death Gatling."
"Yes sir!" Stinger replied enthusiastically while Death Gatling gave a stiff nod.
Death Gatling would rather not spend time associating with the to elders but unfortunately his partner was star struck by the S-Class hero.
"Are you also responding to the distress call regarding the Hero Hunter?"
Death Gatling saw it, a sharpness entered the old man's kindly gaze "yes, have you heard anything about that?"
Before Stinger could blab something unnecessary Death Gatling stepped forward "the Hero Hunter already left by the time we got here."
"I see" Silver Fang sighed "we were informed that he attacked a civilian girl, is that true?"
Death Gatling unfortunately took some time to formulate a response which gave Stinger the opportunity to butt in.
"Don't worry Suiko is an aspiring hero and gave as good as she got with her martial arts."
"She's a martial artist?"
"Yeah."
"Do you happen to know what kind of style she uses?"
"I think it was called Void Fist."
At that the two old men shared a look "brother."
"Looks like your old student found Suicho's successor" the man now identified as Silver Fang's brother commented.
The S-Class hero nodded to his siblings before directing his attention to the heroes "thank you for your time, I won't hold up you two anymore so if you'll excuse me."
"Sure thing" Stinger nodded respectfully before the two elders passed them by. The younger A-Class hero could only look on in awe as they left "wow, did you know Silver Fang had a brother?"
"…"
Stinger turned to see that Death Gatling was no longer beside him. The older A-Class hero was exiting through the hospital doors.
"Hey wait up!" when he caught up Stinger found himself pinned by a glare from the older A-Class hero "w-what?"
"You-"
Death Gatling was cut off by the sound of his communicator going off. It wasn't the Hero Association communicator something Stinger noted.
"What's that?"
"Private communicator"
"Why do you have a-" Stinger cut himself off once he noticed Death Gatling's eyes widened with shock and urgency.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone spotted Garou."
"Really, that's amazing! Where is he?"
Death Gatling barely heard him, too wrapped up in his own thoughts. He sent a message towards the hero who spotted Garou a B-Class hero named Shooter an archer who was an expert long distance marksman. The hero was as effective as a sniper despite using the bow and was one of the few heroes Death Gatling trusted to tail Garou from a safe distance.
"He's tailing him right now. He hasn't reached his hideout yet but from the looks of it Garou's headed for City-R."
*WHOOSH*
Just then a gust of wind blew through the area causing Stinger to jump "what the heck was that?"
Death Gatling's eyes narrowed 'it almost looked like-no no time for that'
Shaking his head Death Gatling began walking away "doesn't matter, we're leaving."
~O~
Suiryu arrived at the hospital in a burst of speed with trophy and suitcase full of prize money in hand and strode through the lobby directly to the reception desk. Ignoring the way how the woman blushed at him he spoke with all the sternness of a worried older brother.
"I'm here to see Suiko."
"O-oh um and what relation are you?"
"I'm her brother."
After getting the directions to her room Suiryu thanked and left following the directions until he came upon the room. As he got closer he could hear voices through the door that was left ajar. A moment of listening had him identify two additional voices alongside his sister who was talking rather animatedly. Opening the door Suiryu was met with the sight of his sister laying bandaged in the bed speaking to two elderly men one of whom was familiar.
"Oh hey bro" Suiko greeted "guess who came to visit?"
Suiryu ignored the two martial arts grandmasters for the time being to address his sibling "I leave you for a couple of hours then I'm getting a call about you being in the hospital because you got into a fight with a criminal. I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one."
"I was being responsible" Suiko defended "and what kind of hero would just let a criminal go anyway?"
Suiryu put down his trophy and suitcase with a sigh to look to the two older men who were content with letting the two siblings have their byplay.
"Master Bang, Master Bomb" the man bowed lightly.
Bang of the Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist was easy to recognize given how prolific a public figure is. His older brother however was not as well known to the public however Bomb of the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist was every bit the prolific and skilled grandmaster his younger brother was in the world of martial arts.
"So you are the successor to the Void Fist" spoke Bomb as he stroked his beard.
Suiryu could feel the man taking his measure and he could more or less predict his next words 'here it comes.'
"You have been slacking in your training."
'I know.'
"But not for long I assume?" added Bang causing Suiryu to look at the aged grandmaster.
"No sir" Suiryu replied.
"Your sister was just telling us about her encounter with my former student."
"Former student?"
"Turns out the Hero Hunter was once master Bang's student" Suiko supplied "which explains why I lost against him even though he was sick."
"Wait, he was sick?" Suiryu questioned with mild shock.
Suiko was no slouch so for someone to beat her is commendable but the fact that they were apparently sick as well sounded hard to believe.
"Apparently, it may have been a consequence for attacking Watchdog Man" Bang commented.
'That name sounds familiar.'
"Wait" Suiko turned to the old hero "he attacked another S-Class hero yesterday?"
"Yes and from what I heard he was promptly beaten and forced to retreat."
"Huh, I guess that must've happened after he beat Metal Bat"
"What about Metal Bat?" Bang questioned.
"He said he beat Metal Bat yesterday."
"Metal Bat was defeated by a Dragon level monster that destroyed City S in its rampage" the hero paused "at least that is what we were told."
"I don't know what to tell you" Suiko shrugged "he seemed pretty smug about it. I don't think he was but is there any chance he could be lying?"
Bang shook his head "Garou is a lot of things but he would not lie, especially about something like this."
'Garou? Where have I-isn't that the guy those two heroes were talking about?'
"Seems your Hero Association is keeping things from you Bang."
The S-Class hero could grunt in acknowledgement "thank you for your time young lady."
"It is no problem sirs-oh there is one thing I'd like to ask if it isn't any trouble."
"Go ahead."
"What can you tell us about the man named Shiva?"
Suiryu started eyes widened at his sister's question that came from out of left field. He wasn't the only one either as both grandmasters looked taken aback by the question.
Bang recovered quickly "your grandfather told you about him."
Suiko nodded "a little but I'm mostly asking because my brother met a man calling himself Shiva in the Super Fight tournament."
Now all eyes were on Suiryu and damned if he didn't feel small under the weight of their gazes.
"Impossible" Bomb shook his head "I don't who it is your brother encountered but it couldn't be Shiva."
In contrast to his brother Bang looked more contemplative "now brother let's not dismiss this just yet."
"You can't be serious Bang even if Shiva was alive I can't imagine he would be interested in such a tournament."
"Why don't we let the young man explain the situation first then" Bang acquiesced and his brother agreed.
And so under the scrutiny of three skeptical martial artists Suiryu gave an abbreviated version of his encounter with the man calling himself Tomoro Sazaki and all he witnessed of him. By the end of the tale both grandmasters looked shaken.
"It's him" Bang spoke.
"Impossible" Bomb still denied "it must be a descendant, his grandchild perhaps."
"In either case this person is clearly connected to him. He even knows that technique."
"Gouketsu called him Shiva" Suiryu interrupted "and Tomoro acknowledged it and they both acted like they met before when Gouketsu was still human."
The two brothers shared a troubled look.
While he wasn't as famous as the two of them now Gouketsu was a well known and renowned master in the past. It was also well known that Gouketsu's father counted amongst the first of Shiva's victims and the man was a survivor himself.
"Could the effects of monsterization affect his perception?" Bang tossed out.
"I don't know" Bomb answered then let out an explosive sigh "this is all such a mess."
Suiryu had not been particularly thinking about Tomoro for a long while now but faced with such scrutiny he began to question his validity and so made a decision.
"I-we are planning to visit him later today. If you want you can come with us."
Another look was shared between the two with Bomb stating "I am very interested in meeting that man's supposed successor."
"I admit I am very curious as well but we need to find Garou before he does anymore damage" Bang gestured to the bedridden Suiko.
"About that, he's probably in City R" Suiryu informed catching all their attention.
"How do you know that?"
"I overheard two heroes talking about it while I was coming in."
Bang thanked Suiryu for the information and the two left but not before Suiryu gave them Tomoro's address which should be alright considering he was moving out of the place.
When they left Suiryu took a seat "did I do the right thing?"
"What do you mean?" Suiko asked.
"Telling them about our meeting with him."
"Eeh" she made a so-so gesture with her hand "maybe?"
"I really hope this works out" Suiryu whispered to himself.
~O~
Garou can say for certain that he definitely overdid it. Despite being able to more or less move his body how he liked during a battle once that adrenaline high wore down he was faced with the reality of his situation. A reality he made much worse with his hero hunting earlier. He stepped out of the base ready and willing to take on the world but now he was dead on his feet. Right now all he wanted to do was collapse on the couch drink several bottles of water and rest up for a bit
'I'll restart the hunt later tonight or whenever I wake up.'
That was the plan however the moment his base came in sight he saw that the door was open and there sounds coming from within. Once again Garou willed the fatigue away in order to address the situation at hand. Without any more preambles Garou entered his base ready to forcefully evict whoever was dumb enough to enter only to freeze up when instead of a hero he caught four kids rummaging through his stuff.
"What the-what the hell do you think you kids doing in here?"
Their reaction to seeing Garou went as expected.
"EEK!"
"It's him!"
"What do we do?"
"RUN!"
And with that one of them pushed another kid into Garou causing him to instinctively side step the boy while the others used the distraction to run away. Garou watched the three kids run at a genuine loss for words.
'What was that all about?'
Shuffling made him turn to the unfortunate kid who almost got shoved into him. For some reason it drudged up memories of the past where a young Garou was being shoved into the dirt by his so-called friends.
Shaking his head of those thoughts Garou spoke up "hey kid, are you okay?"
Said kid spun around to face him with a terrified expression causing Garou's eyes to narrow lightly
'This kid looks familiar-wait a minute.'
"Hey, aren't you that brat who was reading the Hero Catalogue?"
"Eh you're that monster loving old guy."
"I'm not old" Garou deadpanned "what are you kids even doing out here?"
"W-well um…" the boy muttered before trailing off into incoherent mumbles.
"Speak up kid!"
"Eek!"
Well that didn't work as intended since now the kid was crying.
Garou almost rolled his eyes and plopped himself on the couch "relax I'm not gonna hurt you or anything."
Reaching for a bottle of water Garou unscrewed the cap and guzzled the entire thing down in a few gulps.
"Much better" his attention turned back to the kid who was now sitting on his knees before him "hey what's your name?"
"T-Tareo sir."
"Okay Tareo" leaning forward Garou rested his arms on his knees "use words. What were you kids doing here?"
"Um, this was our base."
"Base?" looking around the place "you and your friends hung out here?"
The boy nodded "yes sir."
Garou leaned back on the couch resting his head on the backrest. Garou may not be a hot topic for news reporters at the moment but the Hero Association did put a bounty on him.
'If those kids blab about me then the cops or heroes might show up.'
"Um…"
"What?"
The boy flinched "y-you need leave…please."
Garou raised an eyebrow "and why should I do that?"
The kid was in tears again.
"Jeez stop crying kid it's pathetic"
"B-but…you…"
"It's not like I'm planning on living here. I'll get out of your hut after I take a nap. You won't see me tomorrow."
"Oh…" he hesitated
"Well now you know so scram kid."
"O-okay!" he got up only to fall back down "ow."
"What's wrong with you?" Garou leaned forward to see that the boy had a scraped knee most likely from when he fell after that one kid pushed him "it's just a scratch."
"It hurts" the boy sniffled.
"Wuss" Garou grumbled before reaching over to his first aid supply and pulling out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a band-aid.
Garou had no idea what the kid saw but it must have been something since he started to cry again.
"Knock it off with the crying already!" he shouted in frustration.
He wanted to get some sleep to recover not deal with this crap. Surprisingly the boy managed to comply and keep in the tears that prickled the edge of his eyes. He even managed to keep in a yelp from the alcohol hitting his scraped knee. After applying the band-aid Garou frowned, for some reason the memory of Tareo getting pushed by that kid as a distraction kept coming up.
"That was real shitty what that kid did to you" Garou spoke as he stood up from his kneeling position "they always treat you like that?"
It was just a hunch but the boy's silence was telling.
"Tch, they do don't they? Doesn't that bother you? Aren't you sick and tired of putting up with that?"
"…yeah."
The more he looked at him the more Garou could almost see a younger him and he didn't like it.
"Hey I'm gonna tell you something. If you don't want them to boss you aren't anymore all you need to do is get stronger."
In his childhood Garou was always bullied, always being bossed around and he didn't know why. He had no one to tell him things like this and he only found out later that all he needed to do was get stronger.
Tareo's response "but…isn't that obvious?"
"…"
Garou stared at the kid for a moment before abruptly breaking out in laughter.
"Of course! It is obvious hahahahahaha-ugh ow it hurts to laugh hehehe."
"Um, mister-"
Garou shook his head "that was funny. Thanks kid I needed that."
"You're…welcome…?"
"Now get out of-" Garou cut himself off as his gaze went to certain direction.
'Killing intent and it's not just one. Am I being surrounded?' from what he could tell that seems to be the case 'change of plans.'
"Hey kid, in exchange for treating your wound, how about you loan that hero catalogue."
"Eh, my hero catalogue?"
"Yeah, it's important" he said somewhat urgently.
"Um, okay" Tareo for the back of his shorts and produced the book "here."
The book looked different from the one he first saw him use. For one it was thicker and had a different color hardcover "is this the latest edition?"
"Uh yeah, I got it yesterday."
'Good.'
As Garou flipped through the pages he began rattling off questions "does it have all the heroes in the registry?"
"No it's mostly just B-Class and A-Class heroes."
'Well those are the only heroes I'd need to worry about.'
Stopping at a random page Garou noted something "they have info about how the heroes fight? Like special moves and abilities?"
"Not all of them. Some heroes publish lots of stuff about themselves for fan service but others just say no and don't do that."
"Hmph"
'Then they'd be smart' closing the book Garou used his finger to poke a hole in the metal wall and looked through the makeshift peephole 'let's see what I'm working with.'
Meanwhile Tareo looked on confused "hey mister what are you doing?"
Ignoring the boy Garou looked through the peephole 'four at the front.'
A-Class Rank 8 Death Gatling, A-Class Rank 10 Stinger, A-Class Rank 19 Lightning Max and A-Class Rank 39 Biting Fist Snek.
Going to the side of the hut he poked another hole to see 'two at the side'
A-Class Rank 27 Smile Man and A-Class Rank 36 Chain N' Toad.
'And two at the back' another hole was made at the final two heroes were found.
B-Class Rank 99 Shooter and B-Class Rank 43 Gun Gun.
'Eight in total huh' normally he would win easily but at the moment Garou was almost dead on his feet 'at least this catalogue has lots useful info. I need time to come up with a plan'
Unfortunately for Garou he would get that time as the heroes forwent their element of surprise in favor of calling him out with shots fired in the air for added effect.
~O~
"Come out now Hero Hunter you must already know we're out here!"
In the interim silence Snek could not help but admire what was being done here. He couldn't remember the last time he was involved in an actual coordinated team-up that wasn't spur of the moment. What was even more awe inspiring was the fact that they were all assembled by someone most would least suspect to want to work with others. At least for those who did not know the man personally.
'This is quite the team you've assembled Death Gatling.'
Death Gatling the 8th ranked A-Class hero. Snek would never admit it but he felt more than a little jealous towards the man. The two of them joined the Hero Association around the same time. In fact they met each other during the tests but would not be officially introduced until a week later. Even back then the man gave off a brooding near anti-social vibe despite the fact that he was one of the friendliest heroes he's ever met if not a little standoffish.
He remembered Death Gatling being very critical of certain practices the Hero Association held especially the ranking system. Death Gatling actually saw the long term detriments of what a system like that would do to heroes and attempted to rally them towards getting the Hero Association to change it. Snek was ashamed to say that he ignored Death Gatling's call to arms (much like most heroes did). He was young back then, people cheered when he defeated monsters and saved the day and he was getting paid well for it. He learned never to bite the hand that feeds him and he saw the rankings as just another challenge to boost his ego.
Oh if only he could go back in time and slap his younger self upside the head.
After his failed attempt at getting the Hero Association to change Death Gatling laid low. The hero became more standoffish and barely spoke to any of the other heroes at the time. He worked alone and did not particularly care for public sentiment. He did his own thing and from what Snek observed he treated heroics like a job. It worked in his favor because years of work had him climb the ranks to the 8th place of A-Class. Meanwhile Snek ended up stagnating and was now at the literal bottom of that same class.
This was the first time in years since Snek even had a proper conversation with the man. He was sure after what happened back then that he was not Death Gatling's first choice. In fact he wasn't Death Gatling's choice at all. Lightning Max was the one to recommend the aged hero for this operation. He was the outlier here as the other heroes present were either the ones who stuck with him all those years ago or ones who hadn't joined the Hero Association until after that incident.
Snek could tell there was some lingering resentment in Death Gatling and Snek didn't hold it against him. They were friends once and Snek essentially abandoned him when he needed him the most due to his own selfishness.
"Fine, I'm coming out!"
The shout interrupted Snek's thoughts and he tensed as the hut opened to reveal a young man.
"So that's the Hero Hunter" he heard Max mumble
Some would no doubt be taken aback by his age but Snek knew better especially in recent times, age truly was just a number.
Refocusing on Garou the young man closed the door behind him and spoke "don't shoot at the hut."
"You seem pretty subdued, are you going to surrender?" questioned Stinger with a cocksure smile.
Garou returned it with a smirk "what are you talking about? I still need a place to sleep after I take you guys out."
"You say that but you're not looking too good yourself" countered Death Gatling "you really are sick."
Pretty much everyone can see it plain as day. The labored breathing, bloodshot eyes and cold sweat were dead giveaways.
"What, are you taking pity on me?"
"Just making an observation" Death Gatling retorted "we will capture you and escort you to the Hero Association where you will tell us your motives and accomplices" after his declaration he leveled his mini gun at the youth.
"Accomplices?" there was anger in his voice "don't tell me you think I'm working with the Monster Association."
"You deny it?"
"Deny? He…hehe…hehehehehehe…HAHAHAHA!"
In response to his maniacal laughter the others went into stances leveling their weapons at him to which Garou continued his unhinged laughed.
"What's so funny?" Stinger exclaimed.
"I don't know anything about accomplices but as for motives" he leapt up atop the roof of the hut to look down at them and after a deep breath yelled.
"Listen up heroes! I am Garou the one who will become the symbol of fear the absolute evil of this world!" taking a moment to inhale he screamed "AND WHETHER YOU'RE A HERO OR A MONSTER ALL OF YOU ARE NOTHING BUT FODDER FOR MY GROWTH!"
…insanity, it was utter insanity what this young man was saying and yet…
'Those eyes'
Snek felt his fist clenched at the sight of his expression. There was an unmistaken pressure emanating from that young man and for a brief moment Snek felt like he was facing down the Deep Sea King again.
"Take him down! It doesn't matter if you cripple or maim him but he cannot be allowed to leave this place unscathed!"
Snek could see Death Gatling's orders drew some looks from the other heroes, noticeably the younger ones but Snek understood why Death Gatling said this.
'He's seeing the same thing as me'
For a brief moment Snek met the scarred hero's eyes and a sharp nod passed between the two. It didn't matter what past grievances the two had, before everything they were both heroes whose job was to protect the public from monsters. Right now at this moment Garou may not physically be a monster but he was most definitely a monster in the way that counted.
Said 'monster' chuckled darkly as he assumed a stance. His body lowered to where it's almost on all fours, his fingers bent to mimic claws and his yellow eyes scanned the gathered group of heroes like a predator would its prey. And as he assumed this animalistic stance five words left his mouth that kicked off the battle.
"Let the hero hunting begin!"
~To Be Continued~
Author's Notes: Hey-hey readers Streggae here. To whom it may concern (i.e. everyone who has been following this story) this week marks the one year anniversary of this story being published so to commemorate this achievement I will be breaking protocol and posting a second chapter this month. Yes shocking I know but to tell you the truth the reason I can do this is because I've been on a hot streak with this story lately. I won't lie if things continue to progress as they are two chapters a month might become the standard but I won't get my hopes up since things tend to turn sideways when I do.
In any case if you want to enjoy more of this story sooner then you are in luck because I have four Lengthy Advance Chapters available on my Patreon at: www.Patreon.com/Streggaeworks
verycoolname
Not actually cool
You're really nailing Garou and I'm loving it.
- Location
- Argentina
So it seems Garou still has humanity inside him.
verycoolname
Not actually cool
He always did. He might be a violent, petulant teenager, but he really is a good guy, deep down.
He was incredibly empathetic as a kid, sympathizing with the monsters of the week in the cartoons he watched. The fact that his fellow classmates sneered at the idea and forced him into the 'monster' role in their games soured the concept of heroes to him. That became worse as he grew up and he realized how difficult being a true hero was. He's still instinctively a hero, but he came up with the 'ultimate evil' idea as a way of forcing humanity to come together and quit being corrupt, selfish pricks.
Nice.
There's an awful lot of martial artists lately, compared to all the gimmick based heroes that stand out, I know that's due to the current plot focus, but it feels a little odd.
Also, holy moly, everything is X Y Z Fists to this guy. No other body parts at all? Not even a different finger pose?
No wonder Garou nearly got beaten by a foot stomp, and I don't know if he even truly noticed that!
Would the Three Stooges beat him silly with their eyepokes and dopeslaps?
There's an awful lot of martial artists lately, compared to all the gimmick based heroes that stand out, I know that's due to the current plot focus, but it feels a little odd.
Also, holy moly, everything is X Y Z Fists to this guy. No other body parts at all? Not even a different finger pose?
No wonder Garou nearly got beaten by a foot stomp, and I don't know if he even truly noticed that!
Would the Three Stooges beat him silly with their eyepokes and dopeslaps?
Cancelling the negatives and simplifying the phrase, I think this says the opposite of what you meant.
I too don't know if this counts as a spoiler though it really shouldn't since I'm of the mind that everyone here is keeping up with the manga.
Garou sympathized with the monsters BECAUSE he was forced into the role of monster by the other kids who constantly bullied him. After being forced to be the 'monster' so many times he started seeing himself as the monster in the cartoons while he saw the heroes as the kids who tormented and bullied him. It got to a point where his resentment for his bullies was projected onto heroes and in his twisted projection he now saw the heroes as bullies tormenting the monsters like the kids did to him. In truth Garou always wanted to be a hero but after his view got twisted he could never accept being a 'bully' like those kids so he decided to become a monster that would win against the heroes.
As he grew up that mindset evolved with his end goal eventually turning into becoming the ultimate evil that would force all of humanity to cooperate thus becoming the 'hero' who would bring peace through fear and terror.
As he grew up that mindset evolved with his end goal eventually turning into becoming the ultimate evil that would force all of humanity to cooperate thus becoming the 'hero' who would bring peace through fear and terror.
Here comes the beatdown, though I wonder how it'll go this time with Max and Snek not beaten up in the Hospital...
Chapter 14
The search for Garou was not going well for the two brothers Bang and Bomb. It always seemed that the two would either come upon the aftermath of one of his rampage or instead discover a monster attack instead. Part of the reason for their lack of success can be attributed to fact that Bang did not have the communicator issued by the Hero Association on his person. The reason for this was simple enough he was old and did not have either the time or patience to figure out how to use the technology which he told the Hero Association as much.
'Perhaps I should have brought it with me and have them explain its use.'
Don't get him wrong both he and Bomb were very adept at tracking but at the same time Bang was becoming impatient and having access to the Hero Association's information network could only be a good thing for aiding them in their search. Even after they finally got their first lead following an entire week of fruitless searching they were still being left behind. Apparently the heroes whom they had met in the hospital previously had discovered Garou's whereabouts in City R.
"Can we be sure the information is accurate?" Bomb questioned with rightful skepticism.
"It's the only lead we have so it couldn't hurt to search."
Unfortunately despite their best efforts the two weren't able to catch up to or intercept the heroes in question and even if they have the right place they still needed to thoroughly search an entire city which could take hours to complete.
"What I don't understand is why those heroes didn't inform you about it."
An argument can be made for the communicator but Bang's presence in the hospital would have surely made the rounds not to mention the fact that the heroes in question had already encountered them.
"If I had to guess then it would be that those young men want to be the ones to arrest Garou themselves without the aid of an S-Class hero like myself."
Bang was aware of the internal politics of the Hero Association. How competitive it was and how petty some of the heroes can be especially when it came to ranks and popularity. It also didn't escape his notice that the A-Class hero Death Gatling seemed to have a problem with him. He did an admirable job of hiding it but Bang saw through his façade and he was honestly confused. He didn't know what the A-Class hero's issue with him was but what he did know was that they were in danger and Bang needed to find them quickly.
So it's for personal glory then" Bomb scoffed "that's no way for 'heroes' to act."
Bang could have rolled his eyes "I understand and agree with you brother but for now it is what it is. There's nothing to do about it but make do with the hands we are dealt."
As he says this the two look across the immediate area from the roof of a tall building.
"So you say" Bomb spoke before surveying the area "where do we start?"
If those heroes do engage Garou Bang hoped that their battle will create enough of a commotion that locating them will be made easier.
"I'll start with you!" the hero was most certainly out of bullets and thus helpless against him.
It should have been a simple takedown except before Garou could reach him there was interference from Stinger. Had he not twisted his body mid air Garou would have ended up skewered by the hero's bamboo spear weapon but luckily he only ended up getting a cut across his cheek.
'That didn't feel like he was trying to capture me alive.'
Garou only managed to straighten into a standing position before Lightning Max came at him with a flying kick. He was fast and Garou could only throw himself onto his back to avoid a foot to the face. While on his back he did a back flip away to get all three heroes in his field of vision.
"…!"
Just as he landed his instincts flared and he whirled around to see a snake poised to strike at his throat! Eyes widening in surprise Garou's hand snapped up to grab the snake by its throat just before it reached its target. Only the 'snake' turned out to be the hand of Biting Snake Fist and Garou was actually holding his wrist. Immediately Garou retaliated with a straight punch to his face however the hero's other hand went up and just like before Garou saw what seemed to be a snake coiling along his forearm before 'biting' his wrist and wrenching it to the side.
Now they had each other's wrists in vice grips. Naturally Garou's next move was to kick however a preemptive stomp onto his dominant leg halted the attempt. Garou saw Biting Snake Fist gain a smirk on his face and immediately his ear picked up movement from behind. He turned his head to the side just in time to see the heel of a shoe blasting towards his head with assistance from honest to god rocket boosters coming from the front of the shoe.
Garou did the only thing he could and mustered the strength to throw himself and Biting Snake Fist to the side missing the attack though feeling both the wind and the flames wash over the side of his face. Garou hit the ground managing to wrench his hand out of the snake themed hero's grip and cartwheel away to gain some more distance.
'Lightning Max and Biting Snake Fist. They're not bad.'
Both of them claimed to be martial artists and from what he just experienced those claims had some truth to them.
"…!"
It was only due to him picking up weird movement from Shooter near the back that Garou was able to avoid the hail of arrows that assaulted him unscathed.
'Those are poison arrows if I remember correctly. If I hadn't read about him I might not have been able to avoid those.'
The fact that he managed this was clearly shocking to the hero himself as he vocalized it.
"My technique isn't even that well known but he reacted as if he was expecting it!"
"We had already guessed he had information on us" Stinger supplied.
"He's a martial arts master" Biting Snake Fist spoke up "so he must have trained his body to react by instinct."
Garou narrowed his eyes at the snake themed hero 'definitely not an amateur.'
"Then the only way to overcome it is to overwhelm him" Death Gatling stated before leveling his mini gun at Garou and firing off some shots.
Garou immediately started strafing to the side only to be momentarily confused when the bullet storm ended just a couple seconds after starting.
'Why did he stop?'
His answer came in the form of Chain N' Toad appearing in his path out of nowhere swinging the weighted end of his kusarigama before launching it at his face. Garou was a bit surprised at the speed but avoided it by jerking his head to the side but then a large shadow fell over him. He had a split second to avoid a giant kendama ball with a smiling face on it courtesy of Smile Man.
Before he could even catch his breath he was assaulted by both Biting Snake Fist and Lightning Max. Individually the two weren't anything special however they had great synergy and in his current state posed a significant difficulty to ward off. Nevertheless Garou persevered and managed to outmaneuver Max by ducking a high roundhouse to sweep his leg out from under him and follow up with a stomp to his head.
*Bang*
Or so he intended but ultimately stumbled as the side of his knee was shot by Gun Gun. In the very next instant Garou had to hastily redirect Stinger's bamboo spear earning another cut on the side of his arm between his bicep and elbow.
"Damn it!" Garou was forced to hastily retreat with a slight limp.
He did not get far before he was intercepted by Biting Snake Fist and unlike before there was a surprising amount of ferocity in the older hero's attacks. It actually caught Garou off guard for a moment however it wasn't long before he was more than willing to meet that ferocity.
'You couldn't take me on with Lightning Max' Garou thought to himself as the short exchange began turning in his favor 'what makes you think enthusiasm would change anything?'
Only a moment later when the weighted end of Chain N' Toad's Kusarigama smashed into his ribs cracking them that he understood what happened.
'A distraction.'
Garou coughed looking to the side in mild disbelief only to come face to face with Smile Man swinging his oversized kendama at him. Caught flat footed Garou had no choice but to hastily raise his hands in a cross block and take the hit for which he was sent skidding back several dozen feet. Guided by his instincts Garou ducked and felt something whizzed by his head before seeing Chain N' Toad catch the sickle of his weapon.
"He avoided my 'ear cutter' from a blind spot just by instinct. You're right Snek his senses are terrifying" the hero began swinging his weapon again in preparation.
Smile Man joined him "as expected of Silver Fang's former disciple."
Together both heroes threw their respective tethered weapons, a chained weight and massive kendama ball attached to a thin cord. Garou leapt away at a low angle to avoid the twin collision but had to contort his body to avoid a center mass shot from Gun Gun and again twist his body in a spin to avoid another hail of arrows from Shooter. All of this was done in one breath and unfortunately not even Garou could avoid the rapid continuous barrage of attacks.
As he landed there were now two arrows stuck in his shoulder courtesy of Shooter.
"Direct hit!" the archer exclaimed "the poison should take full effect in two minutes."
Garou didn't make any moves instead taking the time to catch his breath and assess the situation. He finally understood how they were operating. It's an interchangeable formation of distracting him with overwhelming attacks to give one of the other heroes an opportunity for a decisive blow.
'Not only that but if I get stuck in one place engaged for too long then the others will take debilitating shots to chip away at my stamina.'
He has to constantly keep track of everyone while staying mobile lest he be caught off guard. His instincts can only take him so far. Case in point he had a pair of cuts, a cracked rib and two poisoned arrows stuck in his shoulder on top of his already deteriorating health.
'I can feel the poison taking effect.'
Right now he was drenched in sweat, panting for breath, his body was wracked with fatigue and his mind was going numb from the poison. Oh and he was also currently surrounded on all sides with no chance for escape or getting to one of the weaker heroes before being intercepted.
'Damn, this is bad' he thought to himself whilst making sure not to give away how desperate he was becoming.
Death Gatling chose to break the silence right then "if you're going to surrender then now would be a good time to do it. I have my gun pointed directly at you so whether or not you end up as mincemeat will be entirely up to you."
Garou silently glared at him with an unimpressed expression that did not waver despite his body being in the early stages of shutting down.
Death Gatling continued "you didn't think it would turn out like this did you?"
"…"
"I can see it in your face. You underestimated us and now it's coming back to bite you. Unfortunately for you 'Hero Hunter' everyone here is an elite hero who has been through many life and death battles with powerful monsters. They've all gathered here just to hunt you down."
Garou knew this spiel was just a ploy to buy time for the poison to take effect. Still he couldn't help but chuckle at the hero's words.
"You guys? Elites? I can't help but be put off by that statement" wiping the blood off his cut cheek he looked around the assembled heroes "what about the S-Class? With how much the Hero Association has been humiliated recently its weird how they haven't sent any of them after me. Instead I'm being confronted by you lot" his smile grew a bit at his next words "just a bunch of inferior heroes. I can't even get excited at the prospect of beating you since I've been doing that all week."
He knew his words had an effect on the gathered heroes but even he didn't expect the kind of response from Death Gatling.
"So you're only focused on the S-Class heroes huh?" his expression was still stoic however his words had an undercurrent of malice and frustration "I can't say I blame you. After beating two S-Class heroes I suppose lower ranked heroes would seem inferior. Heh, even the Hero Association itself seems to think so as well."
"Huh?" this conversation took a turn.
"Death Gatling" Biting Snake Fist spoke up and Death Gatling met the other A-class hero's gaze to which the snake themed hero shook his head "not the time."
"…you're right" Death Gatling nodded before turning back Garou with a hardened gaze "not that someone like you would understand" he paused "or maybe you do."
"What are you talking about?"
"You took on the name of 'monster,' declared you would become the 'symbol of fear' and 'absolute evil'" the hero shook his head "ridiculous. All I see is a brat playing at being a monster and failing despite everything."
Garou stilled "what?"
"What exactly have you accomplished since you started on this crusade 'Hero Hunter? You defeated several heroes including two of the S-Class which is impressive but ultimately what does it matter if such actions can be overshadowed in one fell swoop by the Monster Association? In the end you're just a boy playing monster and an inferior one at that. And isn't it poetic that us 'inferior heroes' will be the ones to take you an inferior monster down?"
Max understood just as much as the others that Death Gatling's speech was meant to buy them time for the poison in Shooter's arrows to circulate through Garou's body and render him incapacitated however the young hero couldn't help but feel that the conversation took a turn into some murky waters halfway through. He's never worked with Death Gatling before so he didn't know his personality or tactics but Max felt this kind of psychological warfare was a bit much. Even if it was effective perhaps it was too effective.
Max couldn't see Garou's face from his position however he could feel something in the atmosphere change upon the completion of Death Gatling's speech. As a hero and a martial artist Max has fought a number of both monsters and other martial artists before but never has he come across an opponent like Garou. They say that he was Silver Fang's former student but Max would have never believed it from what he's seen of the man so far.
There was something off about him. Max has seen videotaped demonstration of Silver Fang's martial arts and Garou's movements only bore the most superficial resemblance to them. There was something primal about Garou, his movements were more animalistic than normal and sometimes in the briefest moments of engagement Max wondered if he was even fighting a human.
"The poison should be working he should be at his limits!" Shooter had yelled which signaled them to reengage but after several more quick exchanges Max was skeptical.
The simple fact of the matter is it didn't feel like Garou's movements were being dulled from the poison. Oh sure Max could tell the pressure was mounting on but so far they've not been able to land another hit on Garou with their tactics. It felt as if even though his movements were hampered he had already adapted to their tactics and was able to keep out of their reach for the time being.
Also unlike before Garou was now purely on the defensive focusing on dodging, keeping his distance and would immediately retreat if engaged in close quarters.
'What is he up to? He has to realize he can't win a battle of attrition.'
Garou was covered in sweat, his chest rose and fell with each harsh panting breath that seemed to grow harsher with each small engagement. It truly looked like it was only a matter of time before he keeled over and as fate would have it Garou's body trembled before he started swaying. Seemingly losing control of his legs the young man stumbled to the side and his foot caught a loose rock that had him falling to the side.
Taking the opportunity for what it seemingly was Chain N' Toad snagged his ankle to further trip him up. It gave Smile Man the opening to launch his kendama ball but before it could hit Max saw Garou inhale. It was a small but deliberate thing and it immediately raised alarm bells.
'Breathing technique!'
Max's martial art Hyper Karate had several breathing techniques and following his reentry into the dojo Max's sensei taught him the importance of breathing techniques in martial arts. So he may not have known what Garou was up to but he realized Smile Man's mistake before he went through with his next action.
"Shit!" he cursed but it was too late.
In a move that was very reminiscent of what he saw in Silver Fang's Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist Garou turned his stumble into a sharp bodily spin resulting in him redirecting the massive kendama ball like a pinball that ricochet directly at Chain N' Toad. Max could do nothing in his position as his fellow A-Class hero was crushed under the weight of the unwitting friendly fire.
"Chain N' Toad!" Smile Man shouted in horror as he quickly pulled back on the cord attached to the ball however before he could get back his weapon Garou cut the cord using Chain N' Toad's sickle and halting the ball right beside him.
Gun Gun took the initiative for a headshot which Garou blocked using the sickle before taking cover behind the giant kendama ball to block the subsequent shots.
"Dammit he's got the sickle!"
"So it's fine if you all come at me with weapons but I can't do the same?" Garou shouted mockingly "what with the discrimination huh!?"
Garou chose to act right when Gun Gun ran out of bullets by blasting the giant kendama ball towards the B-Class hero with a double palm.
Gun Gun only had time to curse before the oversized toy ball knocked the hero aside and out cold before ricocheting off a tree on a collision course towards Max himself.
"Tch" Max clicked his teeth and met it head on with a front flip assisted by the rockets imbedded in his shoes.
Giant Wheel Double Heel Drop.
The result was the kendama ball getting destroyed however the moment he landed Max's legs got snagged by Chain N' Toad's stolen weapon robbing him of movement.
Suddenly Garou appeared before him using the debris from the resulting giant Kendama ball being destroyed as cover and said "better protect your vitals."
"Wha?"
In the next moment Max felt a brief bout of vertigo as he was swung upwards where he could see a hail of arrows falling from the sky directly towards him. With a curse Max did as previously instructed and curled up in a fetal position to protect his head and torso. The hero ended up screaming in pain as several arrows imbedded in his arm, shoulder and leg. Garou wasn't done yet however as he threw the weighted end of the kusarigama he had untangled from his leg at some point at Shooter's forehead rendering him unconscious.
Stinger cursed and charged towards Garou in an effort to skewer him. He had to change course however as Garou simply threw Max at him full force. Stinger managed to catch the injured hero without falling over and hastily beat a retreat in case Garou decided to capitalize.
He did not however and with a near manic grin he stated to the rest of the heroes "half of you left."
'How is he still standing?'
As Stinger tended to him by pulling out the arrows Max knew it was too late. He could feel the poison taking effect and as Lightning Max's consciousness faded his last thoughts were
'He really is…a…Monster.'
Death Gatling stamped down on the emotions that threatened to spill out upon that observation. Instead he used them to fuel his determination to see the mission through.
Smile Man had the right of it as he stated with a tone of grim finality "Death Gatling we can't afford for all of us to get annihilated trying to capture him alive" he paused to give him a sideways glance full of grim meaningfulness.
"…you're right, he made his choice. From now on we go at him with the intention to kill."
Even if Death Gatling was used to death this decision was not one he made lightly especially since for all the damage Garou has caused he has yet to actually take a life. Unfortunately that wasn't enough especially considering what Garou's ultimate goal was. He was just too dangerous to be left alone. Garou presented a problem that will ultimately endanger a lot of people in the future and Death Gatling wasn't going to risk the lives of the public or his comrades here.
'The Hero Association is ignoring him so it's up to us. We need to nip this in the bud here. Failure is not an option.'
In response to his words Garou started running towards him with surprising speed However Death Gatling was not his target.
"Stinger! Let's go, you and me!"
In response Stinger leapt to his feet away from the unconscious Lightning Max and got into a stance with his spear.
"Bring it on then!" the young hero shouted "Death Gatling don't interfere!"
"Idiot, don't fall for his provocation stick to the plan we still have him outnumbered!" an aggravated Smile Man shouted.
Death Gatling remained silent. He had no intention of humoring Garou's words or Stinger's intention.
'Once he's close I'll turn him into mincemeat.'
Yet when he got close Garou smirked and instead of engaging Stinger he smashed his fist into the ground creating massive fissures in the surrounding area and causing chunks of the ground to uproot all around them. The three heroes stumbled due to lost footing and loose rock flying everywhere. Death Gatling himself had to cover his face but in the process lost sight of his target.
'Where is he!?'
He got his answer a moment later when Smile Man was incapacitated with a flying kick to the face.
"Ha, you're just as gullible as they say Stinger" Garou mocked with a smirk.
"You bastard!"
'This has gone on long enough.'
"Step aside Stinger" Death Gatling shouted.
Stinger mercifully did as ordered and Death Gatling unleashed his mini gun. Yet against all odds Garou kept ahead of the bullet spray using that low movement technique of his. It was frustrating especially since he could see what the man was doing.
"He's heading for you Snek don't let him get close!"
To his credit Snek was already aware and was already before Death Gatling even finished his sentence. Still somehow Garou increased his speed to catch up to Snek forcing him to stop his attack. Death Gatling watched as Snek and Garou engaged each other in a flurry of attacks. Snek was a strong and skilled fighter but Garou was faster, stronger and even more skilled. Despite his valiant effort Snek was ultimately overwhelmed and at the mercy of the younger man.
'He's not finishing it' Death Gatling realized.
It became clear that the fight was over but for reason Garou wasn't ending it.
"He's toying with him!"
"Now be patient Stinger. After I'm done with him you'll be next."
'Ah that's why' he thought with a pronounced frown that did not match his current emotion.
"It's a trap Stinger he's saying that on purpose to provoke you."
"I don't care" the younger hero yelled "I'll finish this right here!"
No he'll get beaten and Death Gatling was aware that there was no way he could stop him so he let Stinger do what he wanted. A bit heartless but stinger needed to learn not to be tricked so easily and besides there was still a way for Death Gatling to salvage the situation.
'Garou must be at his limit now' he' said this before but now he was sure the young man was pushing himself to the utmost limits.
True to his prediction Garou was able to easily bypass Stinger's reckless charge and slam an uppercut under the hero's chin rendering him unconscious in a single hit. A weakened and bloody Snek used the opportunity presented to launch an attack from Garou's flank. Garou ducked the attack and slammed his elbow into his gut sending the hero flying into a tree.
"You willingly gave up your human shield" Death Gatling raised his mini gun "I told you we gave up on capturing you alive. Now no one else will get dragged down with you. It's over monster Garou."
Before he could pull the trigger Garou did something surprising and held up his hand.
"Wait there's a kid inside the hut. If you shoot from there he'll get hurt."
Despite himself Death Gatling hesitated and his eyes drifted to the very hut positioned behind him. He only wavered for a single moment before his glare hardened in intensity.
"I thought you were going to say something clever" he growled "that may have worked on Stinger but did you really think I would fall for such an obvious lie?"
It pissed him off more that he would use a kid as well.
In response to his words Garou yelled at the top of his lungs "WATCH CLOSELY! THIS IS THE MOMENT WHERE THE MONSTER WINS!"
It didn't seem as if Garou was speaking to him and Death Gatling gritted his teeth at how far Garou was willing to go with this farce but unfortunately for the would-be 'symbol of fear' Death Gatling was fully committed to ending him.
Death Gatling's voice was like the final ominous toll of a bell "only justice will win."
DEATH SHOWER!
A few days ago while he was sitting alone in the park reading a hero catalogue he met an older guy. Tareo knew that he wasn't that old but he called him old guy anyway somewhat as a joke and because well, he never actually got his name. In any case when they first met 'old guy' was a little intimidating and weird to say the least. Tareo was sure anyone who got really excited about monsters can be considered weird. Despite this Tareo didn't think badly of him and other being a bit weird Tareo actually enjoyed the company.
Besides it's not as if he was likely to meet him again. That's what he thought after the mister left to go on 'patrol' which Tareo thought meant he was a hero as well. Hey maybe that's why he was excited about monsters. Except that's not what happened on either accounts as far as he could see now. Meeting him again was unexpected especially since it turned out he had been the 'homeless guy' squatting in their base.
If Tareo was being honest the guy looked terrible as if he'd been in a fight but also sick. Despite this it didn't lessen his intimidation factor in fact it actually made him more intimidating than he was. Adding to the terror of the situation was his 'friends' literally shoving him into the man only for him to fall flat on his face and injuring himself. Lucky for Tareo despite his terrifying appearance the man was amenable even going so far as to treat his injury and give him advice?
The point is he sympathized with Tareo's situation with his 'friends' who weren't so much his friends as they were his bullies who roped him into mostly bad situations. None of that mattered now however as currently Tareo was standing by one of three holes made by the man. He had been using them to keep track of the battle taking place between that same older man and actual heroes.
Throughout the entire battle Tareo was caught in a state of disbelief unable to fully grasp what he was witnessing. That mister was fighting heroes and at first he was struggling but then he gained the advantage and started taking all of them out one by one until only one of them was left. Then when the mister tried to tell the hero that he was in the hut and that he shouldn't shoot the hero didn't' believe him.
And now…
"WATCH CLOSELY! THIS IS THE MOMENT WHERE THE MONSTER WINS!"
"Only justice will win" Death Gatling's voice sent chills down Tareo's spine and it might be his imagination but in that moment it looked as if the hero's face was replaced by a skull.
"DEATH SHOWER!"
In the next instant Tareo fell down to a fetal position and covered his ears from the cacophony of noise. It lasted for what felt like minutes and the entire time he had his eyes shut. When it was over Tareo hesitantly opened his eyes to find that the edges of the hut were gone with holes riddled close to where they were sheered off. The part that survived unscathed was the section where he was watching the events unfold and as the ringing in his ears subsided the commotion outside gained his attention. Hesitantly he opened the door to find the old guy punching Death Gatling in the face and then ripping his mini gun from his arm.
"I don't care about your shitty hero business! You caring about your ranking so much is so freaking lame" he then stomped the mini gun breaking it in half "and boring."
Tareo swallowed thickly as he approached him because despite everything he did save his life so the least he could do was thank him.
"H-hey mister…"
Tareo watched him perk up and turn around "oh you're alive."
As he got a look at the man Tareo felt his heart stop. From his angle the sun was directly over his head casting the man in a dark silhouette. As he stood there terrified his eyes drifted to bodies strewn across the area and it suddenly dawned on him that he just witnessed somebody take down a group of heroes. And with this realization Tareo did the only thing a child could do in this situation.
He ran away screaming in fear.
'Of course the kid would be scared out of his mind after all he just watched me take out his precious heroes'
Reaching over his shoulder Garou pulled out the two arrows stuck in his shoulder and threw them aside.
'I'm a monster.'
"I really did it this time" he coughed.
He needed to get out of there fast.
"Urgh"
'Water first' he started limping towards the hut, hoping that his water bottles survived.
Halfway towards his destination however Garou was inexplicably blindsided by a sudden kick to the side of his head that sent him flying over the clearing and into the forest. That was by far the hardest hit he'd ever had today and he ended up taking some time to reorient himself. He just about rolled over to his hands and knees when an irritatingly familiar voice reached his ears.
"It's been a long time Garou."
Immediately alert now Garou looked over his shoulder and an involuntary hiss left his mouth.
"Old geezer" he spat out with an immense amount of vitriol.
Internally Garou cursed his luck 'the one person I didn't want to encounter right now shows up.'
His old master Bang, the 3rd ranked S-Class hero Silver Fang looked down at him with a stoic yet foreboding expression.
"Look at what you've become my former disciple."
Garou bristled at his words, his bloody teeth clenched so hard they might break.
"Come forth and let me end your suffering."
"So you want to kill me too eh?" Garou spoke as he shakily got to his feet and continued "fine then."
Abruptly the shakiness in his stance abated and he went into a stance for the modified Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist, one in which he incorporated several styles into the martial art for maximum unpredictability.
"Bring it on old man!"
In response Bang settled into the stance for the mastered version of the Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist.
There was a beat of silence as the two eyed each other before Garou's impatience won through and he leapt at him with his hands outstretched and finger curled like claws that couldn't wait to rip him limb from limb.
Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist.
Garou never saw the first hit coming let alone the dozens of others that impacted across his body. The pain was so intense that he might have blacked out for a moment only to be knocked back into consciousness.
"Raargh!"
Finally Garou made a desperate attempt at retaliation by mustering all of what was left of his strength and willpower into a desperate retaliation with his modified version of the same martial art. For a moment he managed to hold his own against his master however that moment was ever so brief and in no time at all Garou found himself being pushed back aggressively. And in just five seconds since his initial retaliation Garou was right back where he started, at the seemingly nonexistent mercy of his former master.
*SMACK*
Garou took advantage of Bang's attack and allowed his body to be pushed back, the only way he could gain some breathing room. Not that it helped as Bang was quick to rush after him but Garou was also quick to catch his wrist before the attacks landed. With the old man's wrists in his grip Garou attempted to launch a flying knee into Bang's face only to be handily outmaneuvered when Bang managed to instead pull him into his raised knee faster.
Disoriented from the blow Garou was helpless when Bang followed up by grabbing his ear to pull him into an overhead throw and finish off by delivering several quick yet devastating kicks to his chest while he was still airborne from the throw. Garou was sent careening into the forest through several trees until he landed sprawled heavily on his back.
He spat up some more blood but had no time to rest as the old man was already coming down at him from the air like a bullet with his fist cocked back. Garou raised a hasty cross block and immediately felt the bones in his forearms fracture as the impact created a massive crater with his body as the epicenter. Bang continued to lay into him with more earth shattering punches that had the crater continue its expansion.
'Such fierce attacks…this isn't like the old man at all…' Garou thought to himself even as he tried to defend against the onslaught.
An attempt that has proven ultimately futile as Bang easily broke through his guard and Garou became too weak to reestablish it. In fact it became harder and harder for his body to respond to his command and his mind grew numb with each passing second.
'Shit…I'm blacking out…no…I'm dying...'
Everything was pain and as the darkness crept at the edge of his vision the last thing he saw was the stoic face of his old master as he mercilessly tried to beat him to death.
…
…
'…NO!'
Like a shock to his system Garou forced himself awake and with newfound adrenaline pumping through his veins he ignored the pain, grabbed some dirt off the ground and threw it in Bang's face. Rather than being caught off guard Bang smoothly deflected the dirt but in doing so he briefly halted his chain of attacks. It was enough for Garou scamper out from under him though he quickly realized that his legs were barely able to support his weight anymore.
Not a problem as he instead went on all fours.
'Just like that, remember those movements.'
As the memories of Watchdog Man replayed in his mind Garou began to match the S-Class hero's bestial movement style. He started bounding across the forest, on the grass and leaping from the trees like a demented monkey on all fours.
Bang watched this all with a stoic expression though his voice did contain a hint of curiosity "you're just like a wild beast. Where did you learn those strange movements?"
Now that he had mobility and Bang wasn't attacking Garou quickly took the chance to hastily assess the situation and found that it was in dire straits. Retreat was the only option but for as passive as Bang was being at the moment he knew for a fact that it was mostly out of curiosity and assessment that he was being given some breathing room.
'The moment I try to leave the old man is gonna be on me! I need something to distract him.'
His eyes caught sight of one of the unconscious heroes a ways away and immediately made a leap towards him. He noted that despite this the old man did not move a single inch from his position not that he had a chance to ask why when his answer came not a moment before he reached the prone hero.
"Don't even think about it."
'What!?'
Another old man appeared from out of nowhere and kicked him across the face. Garou skipped across the ground until his body slammed into the middle of a large tree with such force that it toppled over with him on top of it.
"Gah!"
Groaning from the attack and the fact that at this point his body was just one big bloody bruise Garou picked himself up on top of the fallen tree. In the moment it took him to do so the two old men had Garou cornered. He wiped the corner of his mouth, spat out a glob of blood and looked at the new arrival.
'That other old guy looks familiar.'
Said old man looked to Bang as he stepped forward at a leisurely pace with his hands behind his back "you're holding back Bang."
'What?' Garou's eyes widened.
"I understand if you find this difficult to do since he was your former disciple. Should I take care of him for you?"
Bang hesitated for a moment before stepping past his brother "no as you say Garou was my disciple and as his former master he is my responsibility. I will take care of him…alone." He sent a sideways glance to the other man who nodded.
"As you wish brother" and he stepped back but kept his eyes on Garou.
'Brother?' something clicked in Garou's mind as he stared at the other old man 'now I know why he looks familiar! He's Bomb, master of the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist."
Bang's older brother and in many aspects someone who was much more dangerous. If getting away from Bang was very difficult then getting away from both him and Bomb was downright impossible. And Garou really didn't want to fight Bomb who's martial art style was 10 times more lethal than his younger brother by design.
And as Bang slowly settled into the familiar stance of his perfected martial art Garou came to the conclusion that there was no escape. He prepared himself for another onslaught knowing that this may very well be his last.
*Rumble*
Yet before the battle can recommence the ground behind Bang and Bomb suddenly opened up and out spewed a deluge of monsters who leapt after the two old martial arts grandmasters.
"Now!"
"Attack!"
"Cover the Hero Hunter!"
Both old masters suddenly found themselves having to defend against these new enemies. Not that they were having a hard time of it but the sheer number of them kept the two distracted.
It left Garou confused "what the hell is going on?"
"It seems you are in a bit of trouble allow us to help you."
Garou looked over his shoulder to see a monster in the shape of a sunflower with a face "and who the hell are you?"
He already knew the answer but needed time to catch his breath since it seems as if he will need to escape from two groups.
"We are the Monster Association. My superiors have acknowledged your achievements and are inviting you to become one of our members. We were sent here to 'welcome' you into our ranks."
Words cannot describe how exhausted and in pain Garou currently is but still to accept help from them. His teeth grit and his hands balled into fists so tight that his nails cut into the skin of his palm.
"Fuck off! I don't need your help!"
He'd rather die at the old man's hands than accept help from the Monster Association let alone join them.
The monster was taken aback at first however his face twisted sideways and the smile came back "now now we simply cannot accept no for an answer. We have our orders after all and it doesn't look like you are in a position to deny us anyway" as he finished the sentence the monster seemingly grew taller and the many tentacles on its plantlike body spread in clear sign of intimidation "so will you accept our invitation willingly or do you prefer we do this the hard way?"
Garou met the monster's intimidation with a hard glare but before he could give his 'answer' something made a rather explosive crash into the ground coincidentally crushing a random monster.
"Support request signal confirmed" a monotone voice sounded from inside the smoke cloud "this must be the source of the signal."
There was a silhouette in the cloud of smoke with its back turned looking at one of the unconscious heroes. Garou recognized the prone hero as Biting Snake Fist.
"Silver Fang I am here to lend assistance."
"Your help is much appreciated Genos" Bang spoke amicably as he finished dispatching another monster.
Finally the smoke cleared revealing Demon Cyborg pinning Garou with the cold stare of his golden metallic eyes "you must be the rumored Hero Hunter" he held palm up which began to glow ominously "I will eliminate you."
'Shit!' Garou internally cursed.
Before Genos could act on his threat however Bang spoke up "no! Leave Garou to me Genos. He is my responsibility."
The two S-Class heroes held each other's gaze for a moment before the cyborg lowered his hand "understood and the rest? Where did these monsters come from?"
"They are part of the Monster Association."
"I see" and then instead of lighting up his palm he clenched his hand into a fist and a curved blade popped out his forearm.
"Huh?" the sunflower monster wasn't expecting that and he certainly wasn't expecting the S-Class hero to disappear from sight right before his vision split down the middle "huh?"
Garou didn't react as the monster toppled over with its head split in two. There was no need since Demon Cyborg wasn't aiming for him. He watched as the S-Class hero went on to assist Bomb in culling the deluge of monsters appearing from the massive hole in the ground. Bomb was still fighting against the seemingly endless horde in the background with a lot of blood and limbs flying about.
That was about all Garou saw before his attention was taken by the approach of his former master who gave him a look of disappointment "to think you would also be involved with Monster Association, how far have you fallen Garou?"
A genuine growl of anger and frustration escaped through Garou's mouth as he bared his bloody teeth "I AM NOT-"
But before he could finish they were all suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a new monster. The giant bird creature gave a mighty flap of its wings sending forth hurricane force winds that blew all three humans and even some of the surviving monsters away. Amongst the shouts of shock Garou found himself snatched by the monster's talons and whisked away at breakneck speeds.
"You won't get away!" he heard Demon Cyborg shouted before his arms combined together to make some kind of canon.
A moment later Garou saw light building up from the barrel of said canon however his attention was taken away as the bird monster began shouting at the top of its lungs.
"I HAVE GAROU WITH ME! YOU'RE FREE TO CRUSH ALL THE ONES ON THE GROUND. I'M LEAVING THE REST TO YOU ELDER CENTIPEDE!"
As a massive blast launched from the canon there was a deep rumble from the ground before a truly massive creature rose from the under the remnants of the hut, cutting it in half with its giant pincers as it did. As the creature fully emerged Garou saw the blast impact its head causing a massive explosion that had him closing his eyes from the intense heat, light and gale force winds produced.
When the explosion and smoke abated Garou could now see the creature in its entirety "that centipede…" he trailed off remembering that thing to be the monster Metal Bat was fighting against the day before.
"That's Elder Centipede" the bird began "he's the embodiment of a natural disaster that swallows up everything in its path. I really envy his overwhelming destructive power."
Garou gritted his teeth "dammit! Who the hell told you to interfere in my battles?"
"If we didn't you would have died" the monster smoothly retorted "I've been watching your fight for a while now and I must say I'm a bit disappointed. You need to be more thorough when you defeat your opponents Hero Hunter you left all those heroes alive."
"Nobody asked for your opinion" Garou growled "and I damn sure didn't ask for your help!"
"Well not like it matters now. Elder Centipede will take care of everything and finish off those heroes."
At that Garou began struggling in the monster's grip "no, stay out of my business! Put me down dammit!"
"Hey hey stop struggling!" the bird exclaimed as Garou's movements put a cramp in his flight.
"I won't forgive this! Put me back!"
Despite the hampering to his light the monster found Garou's tantrum to be amusing "hahahahaha why are you so mad?"
"They're my prey!"
"Well it's your own fault for not being able to finish them off besides taking out two S-Class heroes will be convenient for us too since they pose the biggest threat to our plans. You've experienced it firsthand too. It was a bad matchup for you just like Watchdog Man."
His words cause Garou to pause in his outburst but still he glared.
With him being calm the monster continued "you should know in battle matchups exist and in the case our advisor Gyoro Gyoro said that out of all the S-Class heroes only four pose a threat to Elder Centipede:"
"Tornado of Terror who wields unparalleled psychic ability, Metal Knight who commands military power beyond the Hero Association's understanding, One Punch-Man the strongest man on earth and Blast the top hero who forced Elder Centipede on the brink of death 2 years ago. Apparently the only reason why Elder Centipede is even cooperating with us is because of the opportunity to have a rematch with Blast."
"In any case Silver Fang while no doubt being a peerless martial artist his martial arts can only affect opponents of a proportional size. The same can be said for Demon Cyborg as while his capabilities are terrifyingly high he does not come equipped with weapons to take on a being of Elder Centipede's size."
'He likes to hear himself talk doesn't he?'
Garou has kept quiet and ceased his struggles due to the adrenaline of the situation leaving his body. Everything was catching up to him now so he was only half listening to this monster's spiel. Looking back at Elder Centipede Garou will give it to the bird that he certainly can't see a way for the old man to defeat that thing even with Bomb's help. They could get away from it for sure but then they'd be leaving the other heroes to die and they can't carry all of them out while keeping away from it.
That's not even taking into account what happens to the city and the people. He knew the old man well enough to know that he wouldn't put others in danger to save his own skin.
'He's too altruistic for his own good.'
And the perfect example of his altruism came to Garou in the memories of his time as Bang's student.
Looking over his shoulder at the rampaging centipede monster Garou couldn't help but think to himself 'I guess this is it huh old man?'
He scoffed under his breath "yeah right."
"Hm? What was that?" the bird asked but Garou kept quiet "oh is he finally unconscious?"
"…" Garou closed his eyes and finally let blessed sleep overtake him
'You better survive old man because next time we meet I'll put you in the ground for sure!'
'Perhaps I should have brought it with me and have them explain its use.'
Don't get him wrong both he and Bomb were very adept at tracking but at the same time Bang was becoming impatient and having access to the Hero Association's information network could only be a good thing for aiding them in their search. Even after they finally got their first lead following an entire week of fruitless searching they were still being left behind. Apparently the heroes whom they had met in the hospital previously had discovered Garou's whereabouts in City R.
"Can we be sure the information is accurate?" Bomb questioned with rightful skepticism.
"It's the only lead we have so it couldn't hurt to search."
Unfortunately despite their best efforts the two weren't able to catch up to or intercept the heroes in question and even if they have the right place they still needed to thoroughly search an entire city which could take hours to complete.
"What I don't understand is why those heroes didn't inform you about it."
An argument can be made for the communicator but Bang's presence in the hospital would have surely made the rounds not to mention the fact that the heroes in question had already encountered them.
"If I had to guess then it would be that those young men want to be the ones to arrest Garou themselves without the aid of an S-Class hero like myself."
Bang was aware of the internal politics of the Hero Association. How competitive it was and how petty some of the heroes can be especially when it came to ranks and popularity. It also didn't escape his notice that the A-Class hero Death Gatling seemed to have a problem with him. He did an admirable job of hiding it but Bang saw through his façade and he was honestly confused. He didn't know what the A-Class hero's issue with him was but what he did know was that they were in danger and Bang needed to find them quickly.
So it's for personal glory then" Bomb scoffed "that's no way for 'heroes' to act."
Bang could have rolled his eyes "I understand and agree with you brother but for now it is what it is. There's nothing to do about it but make do with the hands we are dealt."
As he says this the two look across the immediate area from the roof of a tall building.
"So you say" Bomb spoke before surveying the area "where do we start?"
If those heroes do engage Garou Bang hoped that their battle will create enough of a commotion that locating them will be made easier.
~O~
The moment Garou made his declaration he was attacked by Gun Gun who shot at him with his two revolvers. Garou leapt from the roof onto a tree and kicked off towards the Hero who barely had a moment to react to him.
"I'll start with you!" the hero was most certainly out of bullets and thus helpless against him.
It should have been a simple takedown except before Garou could reach him there was interference from Stinger. Had he not twisted his body mid air Garou would have ended up skewered by the hero's bamboo spear weapon but luckily he only ended up getting a cut across his cheek.
'That didn't feel like he was trying to capture me alive.'
Garou only managed to straighten into a standing position before Lightning Max came at him with a flying kick. He was fast and Garou could only throw himself onto his back to avoid a foot to the face. While on his back he did a back flip away to get all three heroes in his field of vision.
"…!"
Just as he landed his instincts flared and he whirled around to see a snake poised to strike at his throat! Eyes widening in surprise Garou's hand snapped up to grab the snake by its throat just before it reached its target. Only the 'snake' turned out to be the hand of Biting Snake Fist and Garou was actually holding his wrist. Immediately Garou retaliated with a straight punch to his face however the hero's other hand went up and just like before Garou saw what seemed to be a snake coiling along his forearm before 'biting' his wrist and wrenching it to the side.
Now they had each other's wrists in vice grips. Naturally Garou's next move was to kick however a preemptive stomp onto his dominant leg halted the attempt. Garou saw Biting Snake Fist gain a smirk on his face and immediately his ear picked up movement from behind. He turned his head to the side just in time to see the heel of a shoe blasting towards his head with assistance from honest to god rocket boosters coming from the front of the shoe.
Garou did the only thing he could and mustered the strength to throw himself and Biting Snake Fist to the side missing the attack though feeling both the wind and the flames wash over the side of his face. Garou hit the ground managing to wrench his hand out of the snake themed hero's grip and cartwheel away to gain some more distance.
'Lightning Max and Biting Snake Fist. They're not bad.'
Both of them claimed to be martial artists and from what he just experienced those claims had some truth to them.
"…!"
It was only due to him picking up weird movement from Shooter near the back that Garou was able to avoid the hail of arrows that assaulted him unscathed.
'Those are poison arrows if I remember correctly. If I hadn't read about him I might not have been able to avoid those.'
The fact that he managed this was clearly shocking to the hero himself as he vocalized it.
"My technique isn't even that well known but he reacted as if he was expecting it!"
"We had already guessed he had information on us" Stinger supplied.
"He's a martial arts master" Biting Snake Fist spoke up "so he must have trained his body to react by instinct."
Garou narrowed his eyes at the snake themed hero 'definitely not an amateur.'
"Then the only way to overcome it is to overwhelm him" Death Gatling stated before leveling his mini gun at Garou and firing off some shots.
Garou immediately started strafing to the side only to be momentarily confused when the bullet storm ended just a couple seconds after starting.
'Why did he stop?'
His answer came in the form of Chain N' Toad appearing in his path out of nowhere swinging the weighted end of his kusarigama before launching it at his face. Garou was a bit surprised at the speed but avoided it by jerking his head to the side but then a large shadow fell over him. He had a split second to avoid a giant kendama ball with a smiling face on it courtesy of Smile Man.
Before he could even catch his breath he was assaulted by both Biting Snake Fist and Lightning Max. Individually the two weren't anything special however they had great synergy and in his current state posed a significant difficulty to ward off. Nevertheless Garou persevered and managed to outmaneuver Max by ducking a high roundhouse to sweep his leg out from under him and follow up with a stomp to his head.
*Bang*
Or so he intended but ultimately stumbled as the side of his knee was shot by Gun Gun. In the very next instant Garou had to hastily redirect Stinger's bamboo spear earning another cut on the side of his arm between his bicep and elbow.
"Damn it!" Garou was forced to hastily retreat with a slight limp.
He did not get far before he was intercepted by Biting Snake Fist and unlike before there was a surprising amount of ferocity in the older hero's attacks. It actually caught Garou off guard for a moment however it wasn't long before he was more than willing to meet that ferocity.
'You couldn't take me on with Lightning Max' Garou thought to himself as the short exchange began turning in his favor 'what makes you think enthusiasm would change anything?'
Only a moment later when the weighted end of Chain N' Toad's Kusarigama smashed into his ribs cracking them that he understood what happened.
'A distraction.'
Garou coughed looking to the side in mild disbelief only to come face to face with Smile Man swinging his oversized kendama at him. Caught flat footed Garou had no choice but to hastily raise his hands in a cross block and take the hit for which he was sent skidding back several dozen feet. Guided by his instincts Garou ducked and felt something whizzed by his head before seeing Chain N' Toad catch the sickle of his weapon.
"He avoided my 'ear cutter' from a blind spot just by instinct. You're right Snek his senses are terrifying" the hero began swinging his weapon again in preparation.
Smile Man joined him "as expected of Silver Fang's former disciple."
Together both heroes threw their respective tethered weapons, a chained weight and massive kendama ball attached to a thin cord. Garou leapt away at a low angle to avoid the twin collision but had to contort his body to avoid a center mass shot from Gun Gun and again twist his body in a spin to avoid another hail of arrows from Shooter. All of this was done in one breath and unfortunately not even Garou could avoid the rapid continuous barrage of attacks.
As he landed there were now two arrows stuck in his shoulder courtesy of Shooter.
"Direct hit!" the archer exclaimed "the poison should take full effect in two minutes."
Garou didn't make any moves instead taking the time to catch his breath and assess the situation. He finally understood how they were operating. It's an interchangeable formation of distracting him with overwhelming attacks to give one of the other heroes an opportunity for a decisive blow.
'Not only that but if I get stuck in one place engaged for too long then the others will take debilitating shots to chip away at my stamina.'
He has to constantly keep track of everyone while staying mobile lest he be caught off guard. His instincts can only take him so far. Case in point he had a pair of cuts, a cracked rib and two poisoned arrows stuck in his shoulder on top of his already deteriorating health.
'I can feel the poison taking effect.'
Right now he was drenched in sweat, panting for breath, his body was wracked with fatigue and his mind was going numb from the poison. Oh and he was also currently surrounded on all sides with no chance for escape or getting to one of the weaker heroes before being intercepted.
'Damn, this is bad' he thought to himself whilst making sure not to give away how desperate he was becoming.
Death Gatling chose to break the silence right then "if you're going to surrender then now would be a good time to do it. I have my gun pointed directly at you so whether or not you end up as mincemeat will be entirely up to you."
Garou silently glared at him with an unimpressed expression that did not waver despite his body being in the early stages of shutting down.
Death Gatling continued "you didn't think it would turn out like this did you?"
"…"
"I can see it in your face. You underestimated us and now it's coming back to bite you. Unfortunately for you 'Hero Hunter' everyone here is an elite hero who has been through many life and death battles with powerful monsters. They've all gathered here just to hunt you down."
Garou knew this spiel was just a ploy to buy time for the poison to take effect. Still he couldn't help but chuckle at the hero's words.
"You guys? Elites? I can't help but be put off by that statement" wiping the blood off his cut cheek he looked around the assembled heroes "what about the S-Class? With how much the Hero Association has been humiliated recently its weird how they haven't sent any of them after me. Instead I'm being confronted by you lot" his smile grew a bit at his next words "just a bunch of inferior heroes. I can't even get excited at the prospect of beating you since I've been doing that all week."
He knew his words had an effect on the gathered heroes but even he didn't expect the kind of response from Death Gatling.
"So you're only focused on the S-Class heroes huh?" his expression was still stoic however his words had an undercurrent of malice and frustration "I can't say I blame you. After beating two S-Class heroes I suppose lower ranked heroes would seem inferior. Heh, even the Hero Association itself seems to think so as well."
"Huh?" this conversation took a turn.
"Death Gatling" Biting Snake Fist spoke up and Death Gatling met the other A-class hero's gaze to which the snake themed hero shook his head "not the time."
"…you're right" Death Gatling nodded before turning back Garou with a hardened gaze "not that someone like you would understand" he paused "or maybe you do."
"What are you talking about?"
"You took on the name of 'monster,' declared you would become the 'symbol of fear' and 'absolute evil'" the hero shook his head "ridiculous. All I see is a brat playing at being a monster and failing despite everything."
Garou stilled "what?"
"What exactly have you accomplished since you started on this crusade 'Hero Hunter? You defeated several heroes including two of the S-Class which is impressive but ultimately what does it matter if such actions can be overshadowed in one fell swoop by the Monster Association? In the end you're just a boy playing monster and an inferior one at that. And isn't it poetic that us 'inferior heroes' will be the ones to take you an inferior monster down?"
~O~
'Something's wrong.'
Max understood just as much as the others that Death Gatling's speech was meant to buy them time for the poison in Shooter's arrows to circulate through Garou's body and render him incapacitated however the young hero couldn't help but feel that the conversation took a turn into some murky waters halfway through. He's never worked with Death Gatling before so he didn't know his personality or tactics but Max felt this kind of psychological warfare was a bit much. Even if it was effective perhaps it was too effective.
Max couldn't see Garou's face from his position however he could feel something in the atmosphere change upon the completion of Death Gatling's speech. As a hero and a martial artist Max has fought a number of both monsters and other martial artists before but never has he come across an opponent like Garou. They say that he was Silver Fang's former student but Max would have never believed it from what he's seen of the man so far.
There was something off about him. Max has seen videotaped demonstration of Silver Fang's martial arts and Garou's movements only bore the most superficial resemblance to them. There was something primal about Garou, his movements were more animalistic than normal and sometimes in the briefest moments of engagement Max wondered if he was even fighting a human.
"The poison should be working he should be at his limits!" Shooter had yelled which signaled them to reengage but after several more quick exchanges Max was skeptical.
The simple fact of the matter is it didn't feel like Garou's movements were being dulled from the poison. Oh sure Max could tell the pressure was mounting on but so far they've not been able to land another hit on Garou with their tactics. It felt as if even though his movements were hampered he had already adapted to their tactics and was able to keep out of their reach for the time being.
Also unlike before Garou was now purely on the defensive focusing on dodging, keeping his distance and would immediately retreat if engaged in close quarters.
'What is he up to? He has to realize he can't win a battle of attrition.'
Garou was covered in sweat, his chest rose and fell with each harsh panting breath that seemed to grow harsher with each small engagement. It truly looked like it was only a matter of time before he keeled over and as fate would have it Garou's body trembled before he started swaying. Seemingly losing control of his legs the young man stumbled to the side and his foot caught a loose rock that had him falling to the side.
Taking the opportunity for what it seemingly was Chain N' Toad snagged his ankle to further trip him up. It gave Smile Man the opening to launch his kendama ball but before it could hit Max saw Garou inhale. It was a small but deliberate thing and it immediately raised alarm bells.
'Breathing technique!'
Max's martial art Hyper Karate had several breathing techniques and following his reentry into the dojo Max's sensei taught him the importance of breathing techniques in martial arts. So he may not have known what Garou was up to but he realized Smile Man's mistake before he went through with his next action.
"Shit!" he cursed but it was too late.
In a move that was very reminiscent of what he saw in Silver Fang's Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist Garou turned his stumble into a sharp bodily spin resulting in him redirecting the massive kendama ball like a pinball that ricochet directly at Chain N' Toad. Max could do nothing in his position as his fellow A-Class hero was crushed under the weight of the unwitting friendly fire.
"Chain N' Toad!" Smile Man shouted in horror as he quickly pulled back on the cord attached to the ball however before he could get back his weapon Garou cut the cord using Chain N' Toad's sickle and halting the ball right beside him.
Gun Gun took the initiative for a headshot which Garou blocked using the sickle before taking cover behind the giant kendama ball to block the subsequent shots.
"Dammit he's got the sickle!"
"So it's fine if you all come at me with weapons but I can't do the same?" Garou shouted mockingly "what with the discrimination huh!?"
Garou chose to act right when Gun Gun ran out of bullets by blasting the giant kendama ball towards the B-Class hero with a double palm.
Gun Gun only had time to curse before the oversized toy ball knocked the hero aside and out cold before ricocheting off a tree on a collision course towards Max himself.
"Tch" Max clicked his teeth and met it head on with a front flip assisted by the rockets imbedded in his shoes.
Giant Wheel Double Heel Drop.
The result was the kendama ball getting destroyed however the moment he landed Max's legs got snagged by Chain N' Toad's stolen weapon robbing him of movement.
Suddenly Garou appeared before him using the debris from the resulting giant Kendama ball being destroyed as cover and said "better protect your vitals."
"Wha?"
In the next moment Max felt a brief bout of vertigo as he was swung upwards where he could see a hail of arrows falling from the sky directly towards him. With a curse Max did as previously instructed and curled up in a fetal position to protect his head and torso. The hero ended up screaming in pain as several arrows imbedded in his arm, shoulder and leg. Garou wasn't done yet however as he threw the weighted end of the kusarigama he had untangled from his leg at some point at Shooter's forehead rendering him unconscious.
Stinger cursed and charged towards Garou in an effort to skewer him. He had to change course however as Garou simply threw Max at him full force. Stinger managed to catch the injured hero without falling over and hastily beat a retreat in case Garou decided to capitalize.
He did not however and with a near manic grin he stated to the rest of the heroes "half of you left."
'How is he still standing?'
As Stinger tended to him by pulling out the arrows Max knew it was too late. He could feel the poison taking effect and as Lightning Max's consciousness faded his last thoughts were
'He really is…a…Monster.'
~O~
'We lost half our numbers within the span of two minutes.'
Death Gatling stamped down on the emotions that threatened to spill out upon that observation. Instead he used them to fuel his determination to see the mission through.
Smile Man had the right of it as he stated with a tone of grim finality "Death Gatling we can't afford for all of us to get annihilated trying to capture him alive" he paused to give him a sideways glance full of grim meaningfulness.
"…you're right, he made his choice. From now on we go at him with the intention to kill."
Even if Death Gatling was used to death this decision was not one he made lightly especially since for all the damage Garou has caused he has yet to actually take a life. Unfortunately that wasn't enough especially considering what Garou's ultimate goal was. He was just too dangerous to be left alone. Garou presented a problem that will ultimately endanger a lot of people in the future and Death Gatling wasn't going to risk the lives of the public or his comrades here.
'The Hero Association is ignoring him so it's up to us. We need to nip this in the bud here. Failure is not an option.'
In response to his words Garou started running towards him with surprising speed However Death Gatling was not his target.
"Stinger! Let's go, you and me!"
In response Stinger leapt to his feet away from the unconscious Lightning Max and got into a stance with his spear.
"Bring it on then!" the young hero shouted "Death Gatling don't interfere!"
"Idiot, don't fall for his provocation stick to the plan we still have him outnumbered!" an aggravated Smile Man shouted.
Death Gatling remained silent. He had no intention of humoring Garou's words or Stinger's intention.
'Once he's close I'll turn him into mincemeat.'
Yet when he got close Garou smirked and instead of engaging Stinger he smashed his fist into the ground creating massive fissures in the surrounding area and causing chunks of the ground to uproot all around them. The three heroes stumbled due to lost footing and loose rock flying everywhere. Death Gatling himself had to cover his face but in the process lost sight of his target.
'Where is he!?'
He got his answer a moment later when Smile Man was incapacitated with a flying kick to the face.
"Ha, you're just as gullible as they say Stinger" Garou mocked with a smirk.
"You bastard!"
'This has gone on long enough.'
"Step aside Stinger" Death Gatling shouted.
Stinger mercifully did as ordered and Death Gatling unleashed his mini gun. Yet against all odds Garou kept ahead of the bullet spray using that low movement technique of his. It was frustrating especially since he could see what the man was doing.
"He's heading for you Snek don't let him get close!"
To his credit Snek was already aware and was already before Death Gatling even finished his sentence. Still somehow Garou increased his speed to catch up to Snek forcing him to stop his attack. Death Gatling watched as Snek and Garou engaged each other in a flurry of attacks. Snek was a strong and skilled fighter but Garou was faster, stronger and even more skilled. Despite his valiant effort Snek was ultimately overwhelmed and at the mercy of the younger man.
'He's not finishing it' Death Gatling realized.
It became clear that the fight was over but for reason Garou wasn't ending it.
"He's toying with him!"
"Now be patient Stinger. After I'm done with him you'll be next."
'Ah that's why' he thought with a pronounced frown that did not match his current emotion.
"It's a trap Stinger he's saying that on purpose to provoke you."
"I don't care" the younger hero yelled "I'll finish this right here!"
No he'll get beaten and Death Gatling was aware that there was no way he could stop him so he let Stinger do what he wanted. A bit heartless but stinger needed to learn not to be tricked so easily and besides there was still a way for Death Gatling to salvage the situation.
'Garou must be at his limit now' he' said this before but now he was sure the young man was pushing himself to the utmost limits.
True to his prediction Garou was able to easily bypass Stinger's reckless charge and slam an uppercut under the hero's chin rendering him unconscious in a single hit. A weakened and bloody Snek used the opportunity presented to launch an attack from Garou's flank. Garou ducked the attack and slammed his elbow into his gut sending the hero flying into a tree.
"You willingly gave up your human shield" Death Gatling raised his mini gun "I told you we gave up on capturing you alive. Now no one else will get dragged down with you. It's over monster Garou."
Before he could pull the trigger Garou did something surprising and held up his hand.
"Wait there's a kid inside the hut. If you shoot from there he'll get hurt."
Despite himself Death Gatling hesitated and his eyes drifted to the very hut positioned behind him. He only wavered for a single moment before his glare hardened in intensity.
"I thought you were going to say something clever" he growled "that may have worked on Stinger but did you really think I would fall for such an obvious lie?"
It pissed him off more that he would use a kid as well.
In response to his words Garou yelled at the top of his lungs "WATCH CLOSELY! THIS IS THE MOMENT WHERE THE MONSTER WINS!"
It didn't seem as if Garou was speaking to him and Death Gatling gritted his teeth at how far Garou was willing to go with this farce but unfortunately for the would-be 'symbol of fear' Death Gatling was fully committed to ending him.
Death Gatling's voice was like the final ominous toll of a bell "only justice will win."
DEATH SHOWER!
~O~
Tareo could admit to himself that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the drawer. His 'friends' certainly reminded him enough times for that to be drilled into his head. At the same time despite being slow he wasn't dumb and he knew a bad situation when he saw it. For example currently he was watching from one of several holes made by the mister and what he saw was something incredibly worrying.
A few days ago while he was sitting alone in the park reading a hero catalogue he met an older guy. Tareo knew that he wasn't that old but he called him old guy anyway somewhat as a joke and because well, he never actually got his name. In any case when they first met 'old guy' was a little intimidating and weird to say the least. Tareo was sure anyone who got really excited about monsters can be considered weird. Despite this Tareo didn't think badly of him and other being a bit weird Tareo actually enjoyed the company.
Besides it's not as if he was likely to meet him again. That's what he thought after the mister left to go on 'patrol' which Tareo thought meant he was a hero as well. Hey maybe that's why he was excited about monsters. Except that's not what happened on either accounts as far as he could see now. Meeting him again was unexpected especially since it turned out he had been the 'homeless guy' squatting in their base.
If Tareo was being honest the guy looked terrible as if he'd been in a fight but also sick. Despite this it didn't lessen his intimidation factor in fact it actually made him more intimidating than he was. Adding to the terror of the situation was his 'friends' literally shoving him into the man only for him to fall flat on his face and injuring himself. Lucky for Tareo despite his terrifying appearance the man was amenable even going so far as to treat his injury and give him advice?
The point is he sympathized with Tareo's situation with his 'friends' who weren't so much his friends as they were his bullies who roped him into mostly bad situations. None of that mattered now however as currently Tareo was standing by one of three holes made by the man. He had been using them to keep track of the battle taking place between that same older man and actual heroes.
Throughout the entire battle Tareo was caught in a state of disbelief unable to fully grasp what he was witnessing. That mister was fighting heroes and at first he was struggling but then he gained the advantage and started taking all of them out one by one until only one of them was left. Then when the mister tried to tell the hero that he was in the hut and that he shouldn't shoot the hero didn't' believe him.
And now…
"WATCH CLOSELY! THIS IS THE MOMENT WHERE THE MONSTER WINS!"
"Only justice will win" Death Gatling's voice sent chills down Tareo's spine and it might be his imagination but in that moment it looked as if the hero's face was replaced by a skull.
"DEATH SHOWER!"
In the next instant Tareo fell down to a fetal position and covered his ears from the cacophony of noise. It lasted for what felt like minutes and the entire time he had his eyes shut. When it was over Tareo hesitantly opened his eyes to find that the edges of the hut were gone with holes riddled close to where they were sheered off. The part that survived unscathed was the section where he was watching the events unfold and as the ringing in his ears subsided the commotion outside gained his attention. Hesitantly he opened the door to find the old guy punching Death Gatling in the face and then ripping his mini gun from his arm.
"I don't care about your shitty hero business! You caring about your ranking so much is so freaking lame" he then stomped the mini gun breaking it in half "and boring."
Tareo swallowed thickly as he approached him because despite everything he did save his life so the least he could do was thank him.
"H-hey mister…"
Tareo watched him perk up and turn around "oh you're alive."
As he got a look at the man Tareo felt his heart stop. From his angle the sun was directly over his head casting the man in a dark silhouette. As he stood there terrified his eyes drifted to bodies strewn across the area and it suddenly dawned on him that he just witnessed somebody take down a group of heroes. And with this realization Tareo did the only thing a child could do in this situation.
He ran away screaming in fear.
~O~
As Garou watched the kid run away his expression of mild shock and confusion was schooled into a stoic façade.
'Of course the kid would be scared out of his mind after all he just watched me take out his precious heroes'
Reaching over his shoulder Garou pulled out the two arrows stuck in his shoulder and threw them aside.
'I'm a monster.'
"I really did it this time" he coughed.
He needed to get out of there fast.
"Urgh"
'Water first' he started limping towards the hut, hoping that his water bottles survived.
Halfway towards his destination however Garou was inexplicably blindsided by a sudden kick to the side of his head that sent him flying over the clearing and into the forest. That was by far the hardest hit he'd ever had today and he ended up taking some time to reorient himself. He just about rolled over to his hands and knees when an irritatingly familiar voice reached his ears.
"It's been a long time Garou."
Immediately alert now Garou looked over his shoulder and an involuntary hiss left his mouth.
"Old geezer" he spat out with an immense amount of vitriol.
Internally Garou cursed his luck 'the one person I didn't want to encounter right now shows up.'
His old master Bang, the 3rd ranked S-Class hero Silver Fang looked down at him with a stoic yet foreboding expression.
"Look at what you've become my former disciple."
Garou bristled at his words, his bloody teeth clenched so hard they might break.
"Come forth and let me end your suffering."
"So you want to kill me too eh?" Garou spoke as he shakily got to his feet and continued "fine then."
Abruptly the shakiness in his stance abated and he went into a stance for the modified Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist, one in which he incorporated several styles into the martial art for maximum unpredictability.
"Bring it on old man!"
In response Bang settled into the stance for the mastered version of the Water Streaming Rock Smashing Fist.
There was a beat of silence as the two eyed each other before Garou's impatience won through and he leapt at him with his hands outstretched and finger curled like claws that couldn't wait to rip him limb from limb.
Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist.
Garou never saw the first hit coming let alone the dozens of others that impacted across his body. The pain was so intense that he might have blacked out for a moment only to be knocked back into consciousness.
"Raargh!"
Finally Garou made a desperate attempt at retaliation by mustering all of what was left of his strength and willpower into a desperate retaliation with his modified version of the same martial art. For a moment he managed to hold his own against his master however that moment was ever so brief and in no time at all Garou found himself being pushed back aggressively. And in just five seconds since his initial retaliation Garou was right back where he started, at the seemingly nonexistent mercy of his former master.
*SMACK*
Garou took advantage of Bang's attack and allowed his body to be pushed back, the only way he could gain some breathing room. Not that it helped as Bang was quick to rush after him but Garou was also quick to catch his wrist before the attacks landed. With the old man's wrists in his grip Garou attempted to launch a flying knee into Bang's face only to be handily outmaneuvered when Bang managed to instead pull him into his raised knee faster.
Disoriented from the blow Garou was helpless when Bang followed up by grabbing his ear to pull him into an overhead throw and finish off by delivering several quick yet devastating kicks to his chest while he was still airborne from the throw. Garou was sent careening into the forest through several trees until he landed sprawled heavily on his back.
He spat up some more blood but had no time to rest as the old man was already coming down at him from the air like a bullet with his fist cocked back. Garou raised a hasty cross block and immediately felt the bones in his forearms fracture as the impact created a massive crater with his body as the epicenter. Bang continued to lay into him with more earth shattering punches that had the crater continue its expansion.
'Such fierce attacks…this isn't like the old man at all…' Garou thought to himself even as he tried to defend against the onslaught.
An attempt that has proven ultimately futile as Bang easily broke through his guard and Garou became too weak to reestablish it. In fact it became harder and harder for his body to respond to his command and his mind grew numb with each passing second.
'Shit…I'm blacking out…no…I'm dying...'
Everything was pain and as the darkness crept at the edge of his vision the last thing he saw was the stoic face of his old master as he mercilessly tried to beat him to death.
…
…
'…NO!'
Like a shock to his system Garou forced himself awake and with newfound adrenaline pumping through his veins he ignored the pain, grabbed some dirt off the ground and threw it in Bang's face. Rather than being caught off guard Bang smoothly deflected the dirt but in doing so he briefly halted his chain of attacks. It was enough for Garou scamper out from under him though he quickly realized that his legs were barely able to support his weight anymore.
Not a problem as he instead went on all fours.
'Just like that, remember those movements.'
As the memories of Watchdog Man replayed in his mind Garou began to match the S-Class hero's bestial movement style. He started bounding across the forest, on the grass and leaping from the trees like a demented monkey on all fours.
Bang watched this all with a stoic expression though his voice did contain a hint of curiosity "you're just like a wild beast. Where did you learn those strange movements?"
Now that he had mobility and Bang wasn't attacking Garou quickly took the chance to hastily assess the situation and found that it was in dire straits. Retreat was the only option but for as passive as Bang was being at the moment he knew for a fact that it was mostly out of curiosity and assessment that he was being given some breathing room.
'The moment I try to leave the old man is gonna be on me! I need something to distract him.'
His eyes caught sight of one of the unconscious heroes a ways away and immediately made a leap towards him. He noted that despite this the old man did not move a single inch from his position not that he had a chance to ask why when his answer came not a moment before he reached the prone hero.
"Don't even think about it."
'What!?'
Another old man appeared from out of nowhere and kicked him across the face. Garou skipped across the ground until his body slammed into the middle of a large tree with such force that it toppled over with him on top of it.
"Gah!"
Groaning from the attack and the fact that at this point his body was just one big bloody bruise Garou picked himself up on top of the fallen tree. In the moment it took him to do so the two old men had Garou cornered. He wiped the corner of his mouth, spat out a glob of blood and looked at the new arrival.
'That other old guy looks familiar.'
Said old man looked to Bang as he stepped forward at a leisurely pace with his hands behind his back "you're holding back Bang."
'What?' Garou's eyes widened.
"I understand if you find this difficult to do since he was your former disciple. Should I take care of him for you?"
Bang hesitated for a moment before stepping past his brother "no as you say Garou was my disciple and as his former master he is my responsibility. I will take care of him…alone." He sent a sideways glance to the other man who nodded.
"As you wish brother" and he stepped back but kept his eyes on Garou.
'Brother?' something clicked in Garou's mind as he stared at the other old man 'now I know why he looks familiar! He's Bomb, master of the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist."
Bang's older brother and in many aspects someone who was much more dangerous. If getting away from Bang was very difficult then getting away from both him and Bomb was downright impossible. And Garou really didn't want to fight Bomb who's martial art style was 10 times more lethal than his younger brother by design.
And as Bang slowly settled into the familiar stance of his perfected martial art Garou came to the conclusion that there was no escape. He prepared himself for another onslaught knowing that this may very well be his last.
*Rumble*
Yet before the battle can recommence the ground behind Bang and Bomb suddenly opened up and out spewed a deluge of monsters who leapt after the two old martial arts grandmasters.
"Now!"
"Attack!"
"Cover the Hero Hunter!"
Both old masters suddenly found themselves having to defend against these new enemies. Not that they were having a hard time of it but the sheer number of them kept the two distracted.
It left Garou confused "what the hell is going on?"
"It seems you are in a bit of trouble allow us to help you."
Garou looked over his shoulder to see a monster in the shape of a sunflower with a face "and who the hell are you?"
He already knew the answer but needed time to catch his breath since it seems as if he will need to escape from two groups.
"We are the Monster Association. My superiors have acknowledged your achievements and are inviting you to become one of our members. We were sent here to 'welcome' you into our ranks."
Words cannot describe how exhausted and in pain Garou currently is but still to accept help from them. His teeth grit and his hands balled into fists so tight that his nails cut into the skin of his palm.
"Fuck off! I don't need your help!"
He'd rather die at the old man's hands than accept help from the Monster Association let alone join them.
The monster was taken aback at first however his face twisted sideways and the smile came back "now now we simply cannot accept no for an answer. We have our orders after all and it doesn't look like you are in a position to deny us anyway" as he finished the sentence the monster seemingly grew taller and the many tentacles on its plantlike body spread in clear sign of intimidation "so will you accept our invitation willingly or do you prefer we do this the hard way?"
Garou met the monster's intimidation with a hard glare but before he could give his 'answer' something made a rather explosive crash into the ground coincidentally crushing a random monster.
"Support request signal confirmed" a monotone voice sounded from inside the smoke cloud "this must be the source of the signal."
There was a silhouette in the cloud of smoke with its back turned looking at one of the unconscious heroes. Garou recognized the prone hero as Biting Snake Fist.
"Silver Fang I am here to lend assistance."
"Your help is much appreciated Genos" Bang spoke amicably as he finished dispatching another monster.
Finally the smoke cleared revealing Demon Cyborg pinning Garou with the cold stare of his golden metallic eyes "you must be the rumored Hero Hunter" he held palm up which began to glow ominously "I will eliminate you."
'Shit!' Garou internally cursed.
Before Genos could act on his threat however Bang spoke up "no! Leave Garou to me Genos. He is my responsibility."
The two S-Class heroes held each other's gaze for a moment before the cyborg lowered his hand "understood and the rest? Where did these monsters come from?"
"They are part of the Monster Association."
"I see" and then instead of lighting up his palm he clenched his hand into a fist and a curved blade popped out his forearm.
"Huh?" the sunflower monster wasn't expecting that and he certainly wasn't expecting the S-Class hero to disappear from sight right before his vision split down the middle "huh?"
Garou didn't react as the monster toppled over with its head split in two. There was no need since Demon Cyborg wasn't aiming for him. He watched as the S-Class hero went on to assist Bomb in culling the deluge of monsters appearing from the massive hole in the ground. Bomb was still fighting against the seemingly endless horde in the background with a lot of blood and limbs flying about.
That was about all Garou saw before his attention was taken by the approach of his former master who gave him a look of disappointment "to think you would also be involved with Monster Association, how far have you fallen Garou?"
A genuine growl of anger and frustration escaped through Garou's mouth as he bared his bloody teeth "I AM NOT-"
But before he could finish they were all suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a new monster. The giant bird creature gave a mighty flap of its wings sending forth hurricane force winds that blew all three humans and even some of the surviving monsters away. Amongst the shouts of shock Garou found himself snatched by the monster's talons and whisked away at breakneck speeds.
"You won't get away!" he heard Demon Cyborg shouted before his arms combined together to make some kind of canon.
A moment later Garou saw light building up from the barrel of said canon however his attention was taken away as the bird monster began shouting at the top of its lungs.
"I HAVE GAROU WITH ME! YOU'RE FREE TO CRUSH ALL THE ONES ON THE GROUND. I'M LEAVING THE REST TO YOU ELDER CENTIPEDE!"
As a massive blast launched from the canon there was a deep rumble from the ground before a truly massive creature rose from the under the remnants of the hut, cutting it in half with its giant pincers as it did. As the creature fully emerged Garou saw the blast impact its head causing a massive explosion that had him closing his eyes from the intense heat, light and gale force winds produced.
When the explosion and smoke abated Garou could now see the creature in its entirety "that centipede…" he trailed off remembering that thing to be the monster Metal Bat was fighting against the day before.
"That's Elder Centipede" the bird began "he's the embodiment of a natural disaster that swallows up everything in its path. I really envy his overwhelming destructive power."
Garou gritted his teeth "dammit! Who the hell told you to interfere in my battles?"
"If we didn't you would have died" the monster smoothly retorted "I've been watching your fight for a while now and I must say I'm a bit disappointed. You need to be more thorough when you defeat your opponents Hero Hunter you left all those heroes alive."
"Nobody asked for your opinion" Garou growled "and I damn sure didn't ask for your help!"
"Well not like it matters now. Elder Centipede will take care of everything and finish off those heroes."
At that Garou began struggling in the monster's grip "no, stay out of my business! Put me down dammit!"
"Hey hey stop struggling!" the bird exclaimed as Garou's movements put a cramp in his flight.
"I won't forgive this! Put me back!"
Despite the hampering to his light the monster found Garou's tantrum to be amusing "hahahahaha why are you so mad?"
"They're my prey!"
"Well it's your own fault for not being able to finish them off besides taking out two S-Class heroes will be convenient for us too since they pose the biggest threat to our plans. You've experienced it firsthand too. It was a bad matchup for you just like Watchdog Man."
His words cause Garou to pause in his outburst but still he glared.
With him being calm the monster continued "you should know in battle matchups exist and in the case our advisor Gyoro Gyoro said that out of all the S-Class heroes only four pose a threat to Elder Centipede:"
"Tornado of Terror who wields unparalleled psychic ability, Metal Knight who commands military power beyond the Hero Association's understanding, One Punch-Man the strongest man on earth and Blast the top hero who forced Elder Centipede on the brink of death 2 years ago. Apparently the only reason why Elder Centipede is even cooperating with us is because of the opportunity to have a rematch with Blast."
"In any case Silver Fang while no doubt being a peerless martial artist his martial arts can only affect opponents of a proportional size. The same can be said for Demon Cyborg as while his capabilities are terrifyingly high he does not come equipped with weapons to take on a being of Elder Centipede's size."
'He likes to hear himself talk doesn't he?'
Garou has kept quiet and ceased his struggles due to the adrenaline of the situation leaving his body. Everything was catching up to him now so he was only half listening to this monster's spiel. Looking back at Elder Centipede Garou will give it to the bird that he certainly can't see a way for the old man to defeat that thing even with Bomb's help. They could get away from it for sure but then they'd be leaving the other heroes to die and they can't carry all of them out while keeping away from it.
That's not even taking into account what happens to the city and the people. He knew the old man well enough to know that he wouldn't put others in danger to save his own skin.
'He's too altruistic for his own good.'
And the perfect example of his altruism came to Garou in the memories of his time as Bang's student.
Looking over his shoulder at the rampaging centipede monster Garou couldn't help but think to himself 'I guess this is it huh old man?'
He scoffed under his breath "yeah right."
"Hm? What was that?" the bird asked but Garou kept quiet "oh is he finally unconscious?"
"…" Garou closed his eyes and finally let blessed sleep overtake him
'You better survive old man because next time we meet I'll put you in the ground for sure!'
~To Be Continued~
Author's Notes: As promised the 'long awaited' second chapter of the month. Hope you enjoy and if you want to enjoy more chapter earlier or just want to support me then check out my Patreon at: www.Patreon.com/Streggaeworks
verycoolname
Not actually cool
Thanks for the chapter.
Also, nice fight choreography. I knew what was happening the whole time.
Also, nice fight choreography. I knew what was happening the whole time.
- Location
- Argentina
Wow some of the heroes really are assholes.