Saitama scowled, tempted to throw his controller against the wall. As usual, King was absolutely destroying him at video games.

It had been a little while since the Super Fight Tournament. After letting Suiryu win the tournament and fighting some monsters that had invaded, Saitama had gone home to play video games with King. He was starting to regret that decision. He grumbled as he face-palmed into the floor.

"So, how was that?" King asked. "I set up for a last-gap, come-from-behind wind. Hope you had fun. I wouldn't let you win, but I'll let you get this close. I mean, your moves are always the same. I gave you a chance, but all you do is press the same button. I could beat you with my eyes closed. This puts us at 81-0. I'll lend you the console so you can practice a bit."

"Games stress me out!" Saitama yelled, sitting up.

"If you ever win, it'll all go away," King said, comfortingly grabbing his shoulder. "Don't break anything, okay?"

Suddenly, King's phone began going off. He checked it out; it turned out to be a message for all S Class heroes to come and defeat some monsters.

"I'll beat the friggin' snot out of those monsters!" Saitama yelled.

"The other S Class heroes probably already handled it," King said, causing Saitama to roll onto his back in disappointment. "Speaking of which, Saitama… all these dead monsters near my house frighten me. It seems kind of unsanitary."

"Cool, I'll have Genos incinerate them later," Saitama said. "But I wonder… why do so many monsters appear around here? They're why no one lives here anymore. Kind of wonder how long it'll take before the monsters get to somewhere like City Z Suburbia."

"That won't happen, not while Goddess is around," King said. "By the way, where is Genos? And that A Class hero, Yan-chan?"

"Genos hasn't been home since yesterday," Saitama answered. "And I haven't seen Ayano since the Super Fight Tournament."

"What?" King asked. "Are they alright? There's, like, a Monster Association now. Maybe they got them."

"They're tough," Saitama said. "I'm sure they're fine." He couldn't help glancing at his hero costume, though. "Maybe I'll go and look, just in case."

"Why did you decide to become a hero if you wanna kill 'em all?" Garou asked, staring down at his new partner. "Why keep it all a secret? Why cause all of this crap?"

Ayano gave him that emotionless stare. She reminded him of a doll: pretty face, but lifeless eyes. Downright creepy.

"If everyone knew the truth about me, I'd be dead within minutes," Ayano said. "Unlike you, I am a murderer. The Association would not hesitate to have me killed. Not to mention there is a great being with power so strong, I couldn't possibly beat him at my current level. When I have surpassed him, only then will I reveal myself." She smiled. "But it won't matter. All heroes will be dead by then. That is how I will rise to the top."

Garou kept staring at her. Then he laughed.

"You're a coward," he told her. "You kill heroes and mess everything up because you want to be the only strong one around? You're pathetic."

"I don't just kill heroes," Ayano said, bringing her knife to his neck. "I kill monsters too."

Garou tch-ed. "You don't scare me."

"I can, though." Ayano said, eyes gleaming.

Garou growled. "Well, whatever. The only reason I'm pairing up with you is so I can take down Goddess."

Ayano smiled. "Of course. Goddess is incredibly strong, but with our combined strength, we may pose a real threat to her."

Her phone started ringing. She looked down at it.

"Excuse me for a moment," she said, answering the phone. Of course, it was Genos. She noticed there were a lot of missed calls from him as well.

"Yan-chan!" he shouted. "Why have you not picked up? I have been calling you for days!"

"Sorry," Ayano said, sounding genuine. "I got caught up in hero business."

"Where are you now?" Genos asked.

"School," Ayano lied. "What about you?"

"I am on my way to fight the Hero Hunter Garou," Genos answered. "Come to my location as soon as you can. We will take down the Hero Hunter together."

"Of course," Ayano smiled. "Goodbye."

She hung up on the cyborg.

"Who was that?" Garou asked.

"Demon Cyborg," Ayano replied.

"He your boyfriend or something?" Garou snorted.

"No," Ayano said. "He is on his way to fight you."

Garou grinned. "That so? Can't wait to take out another Class S hero. Hope he's not some dumb bastard like Tank Top Master or Metal Bat."

Ayano heard something moving through the trees.

"He is coming," she said.

"You gonna help me fight?" Garou asked.

"No," Ayano said. "I want to take him out personally. For now, I'll let you fight him alone."

Garou chuckled. "Or maybe you're just too scared to fight him."

Ayano turned to him with blood red eyes. "If I could, I would rip him apart. But I have to bide my time. I want to wait until I'm strong enough to obliterate his systems with one punch, and make sure that he never comes back to life. I want to watch the life fade from eyes, and revel in the satisfaction that he will never get justification for his family. He failed."

Garou stared down at her, blinking. "Sure you're not a monster?"

"I will be watching from the sidelines," Ayano told him. "Good luck."

She disappeared into the bushes. Garou shook his head.

Crazy bitch, he thought. Maybe I should get rid of her before she goes batshit insane.

His thoughts were interrupted by an explosion. He turned around, facing a silhouette covered in smoke.

"I received a call for assistance," the silhouette said. "From the looks of it, you are that Hero Hunter." Genos' eyes gleamed. "I will eliminate you."

Ayano crept into the bushes. She realised Ditzy Nurse had disappeared, and cursed herself. She would deal with that woman later. For now, she had taken out 7 more heroes.

No one will suspect a thing, she thought. Not while that fool Garou is around.

That's when she heard a whimpering from inside the shack. She turned and faced it. She peered through the window, and noticed a young boy sitting on the ground. He was trembling, clutching a hero guide to his chest.

"Please, no…" he muttered. "This can't be happening!"

"Did you hear everything?"

Tareo yelped, almost dropping his book. Standing above him was that girl, the one who had killed seven heroes like it was nothing. Yan-chan.

"Wh…" he began to sob. "When did you get in here?!"

"Did you hear everything?" Ayano repeated.

"I…" Tareo began to whimper once more.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ayano said. She pulled out a knife.

"What… what are you…" Tareo scrambled backwards, dropping his hero guide.

The girl was about to kill him in an instant, but then a voice yelled, "HEY!"

Garou's face appeared at the window, lightly charred.

"Don't kill the kid," he told Ayano.

"He saw everything," Ayano replied, emotionlessly. "He must die."

"You can kill all the heroes you want, but you can't touch that shitty kid, you understand?!" Garou shouted. He cursed as he avoided a wave of fire. "Don't kill him!"

He disappeared, continuing his battle with Genos.

"I will wipe your memory instead," Ayano said, turning her attention back to Tareo.

"W-wipe my memory?!" Tareo asked, facing going whtie.

Garou grimaced, facing away from Genos. The damned cyborg's tougher than I thought.

"Who were you talking to in that shed?" Genos demanded.

"Your girlfriend," Garou hissed. He changed his fighting style to match Watchdogman's, and leaped around on all fours. He zoomed towards Genos, ripping off his arm. However, this backfired when Genos' hand wrapped Garou's neck and squeezed it. The arm dragged Garou into the tree and pinned him there.

"Meaningless," Genos said, taking a step forward.

"One after another," Garou chuckled. "I must've really gotten the attention of you heroes! Makes me happy to be so popular."

"The appearance of an evil organisation has thrown the world into chaos," Genos said. "The Hero Association must work as one to deal with that threat. We do not have time to waste on nobodies like you."

"You think I'm a nobody?!" Garou roared. "Then help me change that, Demon Cyborg! Once I've beaten you, the world will fear me more, won't they?!"

Genos held out his palm, forming a fire at the end of it. He blasted the tree, slicing it in half. Garou emerged from underneath the tree, grinning wickedly.

"Tell them all," he cackled. "No hero is a match for me! A monster stronger than anyone else… is right here!"

"No such thing exists," Genos said, holding out his palm.

He was about to unleash its energy, when a voice yelled, "WAIT!"

A girl ran over, stepping between Garou and Genos. Her brows were creased.

"Raibaru-chan?" Genos asked, lowering his weapon.

Garou chuckled. "Well well well. Long time no see, Rai-chan. I bet you've missed me."

Raibaru turned to Garou, fists clenching. "Garou, listen to me. You have to stop all of this. Do it for your senpai." Her lip quivered. "For… your friend."

"You're not my senpai anymore," Garou told her. "And no way in Hell were you ever my friend!"

He leaped towards her, but she defended herself with her arms.

"I don't want to fight you," she told him, her voice choked up. She couldn't lose another friend. Not again.

There's still good in him, she thought. Somewhere, deep down... I know he's still in there!

"You're soft, Rai-chan," Garou taunted. "You can't even lay a finger on me!"

Raibaru grimaced, holding out her arms. "Garou, you were everything to me! I never got as close to anyone as I did to you! Not even Osana! We did everything together! Does all of that mean nothing to you?!"

"You betrayed me," Garou growled. "You cared more about sucking up to that old fart and looking after your little club than me! Don't give me that 'you were everything to me' crap! You're a damn liar!"

"That's not true!" Raibaru argued. "I always cared about you! I… I just wanted to do my own thing as well. I wanted to help and inspire the others at the dojo!" She frowned. "And besides, all that talk about monsters, it… freaked me out, Garou. But I stayed with you because I thought you were a good person. I believed in you. I thought you would change."

Garou laughed. "Tch, you're pathetic. You're not any better than those worthless heroes!"

He lunged towards her, preparing to use the Water Stream Rock Crushing Fist move.

This is gonna be so easy, he thought. She can't even bring herself to fight back!

However, to his surprise, she leaped out of the way, slicing her hands across his back. The move sent him flying into a tree.

She landed on her feet, fists clenched as she glared at him. "No. No more of this. I'm not going to let you push me around anymore, Garou." A fire bloomed in her eyes. "You're my responsibility, and I'm taking you out!"

Garou gave her a chuffed laugh, getting back on his feet. He zoomed towards her, ready to strike.

"NO!" Raibaru yelled. "I'M DONE WITH YOU! WATER STREAM ROCK CRUSHING FIST!"

"Are you strong?"

Raibaru stared at the young boy, standing at the entrance of her sensei's dojo. She glowered at him, fists clenched.

"Yeah!" she said, puffing out her chest. "I'm Silver Fang's top student! I'm the Indestructible Rival! Who are you, and why are you here?"

"I'm Garou, the human-monster!" he yelled. "I'll defeat you, you dumb girl!"

He raced towards her, but she knocked him back with one swing. He instantly fell asleep.

"I knocked him out?" Raibaru asked, with surprise.

Bang chuckled, appearing behind her. "No no, Raibaru. He's just tired. He must've come a long way."

"Should I throw him out, Bang-sensei?" Raibaru asked.

Bang shook his head. "Let him rest. Once he wakes up, feed him until he's full."

Garou groggily opened his eyes. His head was throbbing painfully.

The hell…? he thought, sitting up.

He was lying on a rather comfy futon, in an unfamiliar room. In front of him was a steaming bowl of oden. Ignoring everything else, his mouth watered.

"You're finally awake," said a girl's voice. "Eat up!"

Ignoring the girl's identity for the meantime, he heeded her words, tackling the oden. He ate it like a vicious animal, mouthful after mouthful. The girl raised her brow in surprise.

Wow, he must be really hungry, she thought.

"Slow down," she chuckled. "You'll choke!"

Garou ignored her, instead finishing the entire bowl of oden within record time.

"More," he said, holding out his bowl.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"More!" he demanded.

"Okay, okay," the girl waved her hands. "I'll get you more."

She went and did just that, and got the treat of watching the boy devour another bowl of oden in record time. Once he was finally satisfied, he turned and glared at her.

"Who the Hell are you?" he asked.

"Rude," the girl scoffed. "Even after I got you another bowl of oden! You could at least say, 'what is your name?'"

Garou glared at her. "What's your name, dumbass?"

The girl sighed. "My name is Raibaru Fumetsu, and I'm Silver Fang's top disciple. Everyone calls me the Indestructible Rival... because I am! What about you?"

No way in Hell would Garou believe she was the top disciple. For crying out loud, the girl had pigtails and puffy cheeks.

Is she really that tough? He thought.

"I told you, I'm Garou, the human-monster," he scoffed.

"Human… monster?" Raibaru asked, confused.

Garou nodded. "I'm going to become a monster!"

Raibaru just kept staring at him. "Why would you want to become a monster?"

"Because monsters don't get the attention they deserve!" Garou yelled. He stood up. "I'll start by taking you out!"

He lunged towards her, but once again, she knocked him back with one blow.

He glared at her from his spot on the floor. "How did you get so strong, dammit?!"

"Lots of training," she replied. She offered a hand. "I can help you get stronger, if you want. After all, Bang-sensei is okay with you staying."

Garou glowered at her hand. "You can help me… get stronger…?"

Raibaru nodded. Garou muttered something, then stood up, grabbing her hand.

"... and it goes something like that. Got it?"

Garou nodded, copying Raibaru's movements.

"Water stream rock crushing fist!" he yelled, waving his hands.

"Now try it on me!" Raibaru said, holding out her arms.

Garou jumped towards her, arms ready. However, just as he was about to hit her, she grabbed both of his arms, bringing him to the ground.

"Dammit," he fumed, glaring up at her.

"You're getting better," she told him, with a small smile. "Who knows? One day, you might catch up to me!"

Garou muttered another curse. He did accept her help as he got back on his feet. Despite her being a lot smaller than him, and her rather girly appearance, she always managed to knock him out in seconds. It seemed no matter how strong he got, and no matter how many private training sessions she gave him, Raibaru was still stronger. Or perhaps, she really was indestructible.

"Don't look so down, Garou," she told him, with a kind smile. "You're making a lot of progress, really! I'm proud of you."

"Hmph," Garou said, turning away.

"Come on," she said, jumping up. "Oden's on me!"

Bang smiled, watching Raibaru grab Garou's arm and lead him off to get some oden from their favourite restaurant. As they passed, the other students nodded respectfully at Raibaru.

The students haven't been this invested since Traveller was around, Bang thought, sighing contentedly.

"Raibaru, we're still training later today?" a student asked, as Raibaru passed.

"Yep!" she replied. "Hang tight, Charanko!"

Garou glared at Charanko as he followed Raibaru. The ginger boy tensed up, backing away.

Those two… Bang thought. They're something else.

"Slow down," Raibaru laughed, watching Garou eat more oden. "Seriously, you're going to choke one of these days!"

Garou stuck his tongue out at her. "You worry too much, Senpai."

"We're the same age, silly," Raibaru giggled. "You can just call me Raibaru."

"Hmm," Garou slurped up some more oden. "No way. I'm gonna call you… Rai-chan."

Raibaru gasped. "Rai-chan… I love it!"

Garou laughed. "Short and sweet, but… not as short as you."

Raibaru pouted. "Hey! I may be short, but I can still kick your ass!"

"Trust me, I know," Garou grumbled. "But one day, I'll get strong enough to kick your ass!"

"I'm sure you will," Raibaru laughed.

There was a brief silence. Garou's body tensed up.

"What do you think of heroes?" he suddenly asked.

"Heroes?" Raibaru asked, tilting her head. "Well, they save people, protect people, fight monsters… I think they're pretty great."

Garou tch-ed. "Of course. That's what everyone says 'bout 'em."

Raibaru frowned. "Is there… something wrong, Garou?"

"Heroes aren't what you think they are," Garou replied. "They're not all flashy saviours."

Raibaru looked away, getting a feeling Garou was going to talk about his 'monster' ambitions again. She decided to change the subject before that started.

"Hey, um, I'm going to Akademi High soon," she said. "It's said to be the best school in the entire world!"

"Whatever," Garou said, leaning back in his chair. "School sucks."

"You don't go to school?" Raibaru asked, brow raised.

"Used to," Garou answered, as if it was a touchy subject. Raibaru realised her change of subject hadn't been such a good idea after all.

"Well, once I get there, I'm thinking of starting a Martial Arts Club," she said. "Then I can teach more people to defend themselves!"

She always has other people's interests in mind, Garou thought. But what about me and her?

"So," he coughed. "We're friends, ain't we?"

"Of course we are!" Raibaru replied. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"You're right," Garou said. He snatched one of Raibaru's hair-ties. "Come and get it, Rai-chan!"

Raibaru laughed as she chased after him.

"Garou, meet the Martial Arts Club!"

Garou stared at the five enthusiastic teenagers standing behind Raibaru. There were three boys and two girls.

"They're all gonna be training under Bang-sensei?" he asked.

Raibaru nodded. "Well, yeah, and under me too. Bang-sensei thinks I'm good enough to handle some students of my own!"

A boy with messy black hair and grey eyes came forward. "Nice to meet you! I'm Budo Masuta. I've been waiting to come here for ages!"

Garou stared at him. "Yeah, whatever."

Budo gave him a weird look as he walked off.

"Garou, what was that for?" Raibaru asked, crossing her arms. "Apologise!"

"Later," Garou said, leaving the room.

Raibaru sighed, turning to Budo. "I'm really sorry about him. He's normally not so-"

"YOU LITTLE TWERP!"

"SCARY SENPAI, PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"And that's Charanko," Raibaru grumbled. "Give me a minute."

The Martial Arts Club members now showed up for every training session. With them constantly around, they took up Raibaru's time. She wasn't able to do much private training with Garou anymore. Or even spend time with him in general. She was too busy being... perfect.

She was sickeningly reminding him of Goddess.

It stung. Even more than the pain of bullying. In the past, it had just been him and her versus the world. For once in his life, Garou felt like he had someone to carry the burden with him. He didn't feel alone anymore. He finally understood the joy of having a friend. He had even re-considered his monster ambitions, for her sake.

But now she was gone.

Damn her, Garou thought, sitting by himself. So I guess she's given up on me too.

His glare hardened. She's no better than those heroes. She was nice for a while, but then she left me, just like they all do.

He stared at his fists. I don't need that dumb bitch anymore. I'm gonna get stronger alone. And then... I'll finally become a monster.

The bodies were everywhere.

Raibaru felt the tears burning behind her eyes. How could Garou have done this…? Her best friend, the one she relied on. The work of his monstrosity was on display right in front of her: the bodies of her fellow students, bruised and beaten. Thrown aside like they were nothing.

She saw him as he ran over to punch Budo in the face.

"Garou, please, don't!" she begged, tears streaming down her face.

Garou ignored her, pummelling Budo into the wall. He glared at her with a wicked sheen.

"This is the day I finally beat you, Rai-chan," he declared, towering above her.

"Please, Garou!" she whimpered, stepping back. "I don't want to fight you!"

"Oh, come on, Rai-chan," Garou cackled. "We always used to fight back in the old days. Before you ran off with your little group and left me behind, being the 'perfect student'."

"What are you talking about?" Raibaru asked. "I never left you behind! We've always been friends!"

"Liar," Garou growled, hurt apparent in his eyes. "You saw me as a monster, just like everyone else did. And you're not wrong. I am a monster."

"No, you're not," Raibaru shook her head. "You're my friend! You're a human!"

"If you're really my friend, then you'll join me," Garou said, offering his hand. "Become a monster with me. Let's take out all those worthless heroes, together."

Raibaru gritted her teeth. "No, Garou. You shouldn't use your strength to hurt people!"

Garou glared down at her. "Then you can go join them all in the trash!"

He lunged towards her, waving his hands. She deflected his move, tears blurring her vision. He brought down his hands, which she dodged.

I can't do it, she thought, heart pounding. I can't fight him.

And for the first time, he knocked her down. He slashed his hands across her, causing blood to spill out of her mouth. Her figure collapsed onto the ground.

Garou leered down at her. "I told you, Rai-chan: I'd beat you today."

His laugh was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

"Raibaru."

Raibaru looked over her shoulder, seeing Bang. The elderly man placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Bang-sensei!" she exclaimed with surprise. Behind him was his older brother Bomb, and many monsters. Bomb was fighting the monsters, while Genos was on the phone.

"You did well, my student," Bang told her, "just as well as I taught you. But today, I'll be the one to handle Garou."

Raibaru nodded respectfully, stepping away as Bang faced Garou.

"Now then," he said. "We meet again, Garou."

"That voice…" Garou coughed. "The world's most annoying old geezer is here for me?"

"What the Hell happened to you?" Bang asked. "I'll end it for you. On your feet!"

Garou obeyed, stretching what should've been broken bones. He glared at his sensei, forming a pose. Bang copied, expression hardening.

Garou yelled out, charging for his master.

"Water Stream Rock Crushing Fist!" Bang shouted.

A/N: In case you're wondering, Raibaru and Garou aren't a thing. I mean… I can't stop you from shipping them, but canonically, there's no romance going on lol