His attack missed once more, resulting in the old man beating him down into the ground. He grunted in pain, standing himself up as quickly as he did the first time. This repeated over, and over throughout the day, until the old man sighed and turned around, gesturing for him to follow.
"What, ya tired already old man?"
"Somewhat. Though, I think I'm not the only one who's hungry."
His stomach growled rather loudly, proving the old man's point right, much to his dismay.
"Fuck off ya shitty old man. I can keep goin'!"
"I have no doubt you can, but you want to get better no? You can't do that when you're not at your best."
Fucking shitty old man and his stupid fucking opinions that are right.
"Fuckin' fine! Can we at least have sumthin that ain't bland as hell?" he asks, following.
The old man chuckled. "I'm afraid my hands aren't steady enough to do anyhing more than hotpot, Garou."
Fucker's lying. Master of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist doesn't have steady hands. Yea fuckin right. He's lying.
"Whatever. Better than goddamn veggies and rice."
Sitting down for hotpot with the old man was something he never thought he'd do again if he were honest, both dropping in whatever they wanted, adding to the flavour of the boiling broth. He couldn't believe it, but he missed it. The hotpot. The quality ingredients.
The pissy old man.
"Is something bothering you Garou?"
No, definitely not that last one.
"I'm fuckin' fine old man."
"Are you?" he prods.
"I'M FINE!" Garou snaps. He sighs when he sees the old man unfazed. "Just hate waiting for somethin when it already smells done."
"There is something bothering you, Garou."
"Fuck off old man. Ya used to shuddap when I said so, so shut up."
"And because I did you ended up on the wrong path." His eyes softened. "I won't make the same mistake twice."
"Ya fuckin took me in didn'tcha?"
"Taking you as my student was never a mistake. Failing to raise you properly is."
Sappy old fuck.
"Piss off old man, I'm fuckin' hungry." Garou glances into the pot, chopsticks clicking together madly. "Is the damn beef done yet?"
The old man checks a piece. "I suppose if you like it medium rare, sure."
He'd rather it be rare cuz it's the juiciest. Then again, it tastes less like blood and more like edible beef when it's medium rare. It will have to do.
Garou takes most of it, leaving behind the bigger pieces to cook. He doesn't miss the chuckle over his noisy gobbling of the food.
"The big pieces? You've gotten soft Garou."
"Yea?" He says with his mouth full. "So have you old man."
He hums. "Why do you say that?"
"Ya spared me, then ya fucking took me in no questions asked, then ya go easy on me in practise. Fuckin' soft, old man."
"I would never disrespect your talent by going easy on you. I'm just not getting any younger." he responds, finally taking out the beef.
"Lying through ya teeth and y'know it."
He doesn't respond with anything but narrowed eyes.
"You're fucking lyin, ain'tcha?"
He puts his chopsticks down with a sigh. "Garou, you know how old I am. I can't do this for any longer."
"Yer faster than me asshole. Ya got fuckin years."
"Garou-"
"Shut the fuck up and eat old man. Yer ruining your own appetite." Garou wolfs down a crab, forgetting to get it out of the shell. Thankfully it's a soft shell crab.
"Listen to me."
He continues to eat.
"I've been thinking, the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist has been in the family for generations."
Fuck this naggy old man. Eat, just eat.
"I can't teach it for much longer, but I don't want it to vanish from the earth. Unfortunately, I focused too much on mastering my craft in my early years, so I lack any heirs."
Ignore him.
The old man sighs. "I want you to take the over from me."
He stops chewing.
He swallows.
"Must've eaten somethin' wrong to be this loony. Go the fuck to sleep."
"Garou..."
"Piss off ta sleep old man!"
"WOULD YOU LISTEN JUST THIS ONCE?"
Garou glares, before moving back with a sneer. He picks out more stuff to eat, and the old man took it as a sign to continue.
"You are the most talented student I have ever had join the dojo, Garou, I have no doubt of that. But you lacked a teacher, a proper one, to guide you on the right path."
Damn the old man and his long ass rants.
"When I expelled you, I felt disappointed. I realised only later that it wasn't you I was disappointed in, it was me."
The old man sighed. How long could he go without drinking, Garou wondered.
"I failed as a teacher, failed to put you on the right path, failed to see your problems, failed to understand you. When news of you hunting heroes reached me, I decided that I would stop you myself, thinking it was my fault you turned out this way."
How the fuck is he still going?
"I felt like a failure when I beat you down. Even more so when you were victorious. When Saitama showed up, I felt hopeless. He held such raw power, but he was undisciplined. Yet, it would be him to finish you off. I decided a long time ago I would retire as a hero, but in that moment, I no longer felt like one."
He should shut him up.
"I no longer felt like a teacher."
Should've pulled him to bed.
"But, when I heard Saitama talk to you, I realised he understood you. I realised there was still hope. By the end of it, I wanted to teach you. Properly."
The old man looked at him.
"This is my plea, Garou. Let me fulfill my last wish, to guide you to becoming a great martial artist. A great hero." He paused. "A good man."
Fuck, he suddenly felt tired. Maybe he should've cooked the beef more.
"It's your choice Garou, I don't mind the dojo ending with me."
"...Fucking eat, Bang. You're gonna need a shitton of energy if ya wanna be my teacher." Garou placed a lobster on the plate across him. "Can't teach me when yer weak as hell, can ya?"
Bang's face seems to glisten.
Fucking soft old man.