The living pillar of blaze let out one last maddened roar as he stood between the two giant monsters.
Gouketsu, for the first time since it had arrived, took up a stance, albeit, a simple back-stance.
At the same time, Bakuzan's mind was racing a mile a minute. It's new monster brain craved destruction and carnage, but the animalistic instincts that came with this mind told Bakuzan to flee from the raging inferno.
Shunshi dramatically snapped his head in one direction, as his flame enraptured eyes fell upon Bakuzan.
"Ishisu... You were... You were gonna hurt Ishisu! I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER!" With those words, Monster Mask suddenly sprang at the newborn monster.
Bakuzan's fight or flight instincts took full control over its body. Its subconscious knew that fleeing wouldn't be possible, and so its body raced with monsterized adrenaline as Bakuzan roared at the Hero, ready to fight, or at least as prepared as it could be.
As it watched Monster Mask pounce at Bakuzan, Gouketsu thought to itself, "After all the torture, he's more concerned about that?"
Once the Hero was close enough, Bakuzan struck at him with its two right arms. The first attack was a standard horse-stance punch that seemed as if it were going to hit Shunshi dead-on. However, as Monster Mask propelled himself through the air, he redirected his momentum at the last moment and landed atop Bakuzan's closed fist. The second strike was a karate chop aimed to crush the rabid Hero, and with its opponent now on its hand, Bakuzan began to lift Shunshi into the attack's path.
Once more, though, Monster Mask maneuvered himself to safety. Leaping at the chop, Shunshi gripped the monster's pinky finger and rapidly climbed up its other digits.
Bakuzan's Dragon-Level monstrous hide kept it from igniting upon contact with the Hero, but before it could counter-attack further, Monster Mask lept from its hand towards its face.
The split-second he was close enough, Shunshi struck Bakuzan with a clawed strike with such strength behind it that the monster was forcibly recoiled back and nearly fell over.
Having left a searing claw mark on Bakuzan's face, Shunshi fell to the ground. Turning over to land on his hands, Monster Mask immediately used his arms to spring at Bakuzan once again.
Flying at the monster feet first, the blazing man rocketed his kick into Bakuzan's broad chest. Already off-balance, the force of this attack was enough to completely knock Bakuzan off its feet.
As Bakuzan fell on its back, Suiryu smiled with a series of missing teeth and cheered on, "Ye... YEAH! Get him, Monster Mask!"
Once the four-armed monster was on the ground, Shunshi pounced at it. However, this time Bakuzan countered with an attack from each of its arms. Monster Mask was able to adjust his momentum to avoid the first three attacks, but the fourth punch was able to connect and bash him away.
Shunshi tumbled along the arena floor for a dozen or more feet, before recomposing himself and digging his hand into the ground to halt his movement.
"What are you doing?! Use your exploding spirit technique so he can't hurt you!" Suiryu yelled.
Paying this advice no mind, Shunshi began to rush back at Bakuzan on all fours, as if he were a wild animal.
Scrutinizing the mad Hero's movements, Gouketsu thought to itself, "His movements are coordinated, but he seems to have stopped using martial arts. Has he lost his senses?"
Surprised by the Hero's unorthodox approach, Bakuzan countered with what it felt was the most suited attack in its arsenal, "Devil Cry Low Kick!" The monster unleashed a powerful sweeping low kick with the intent of smashing its to-the-ground opponent away once more. However, just as the attack was about to connect, Shunshi jumped above it, landed on the monster's ankle, and used a clawing cartwheel to ascend up Bakuzan's leg while cutting and burning out pieces of its flesh.
Once Shunshi reached Bakuzan's torso, he unleashed a clawing uppercut, leaving a gash wound along the monster's abdomen and knocking it off balance once more.
Even with his first attack delivered, Shunshi was still ascending, getting closer to Bakuzan's head. Once Monster Mask was back in the beast's face, Bakuzan attempted to swat him away once more. Before it could connect an attack, though, the Hero formed a light ball in his palm and slammed it into the monster's right eye. The resulting blast smashed Bakuzan back to the ground and forced Shunshi to backflip away.
As Bakuzan was on its back, it grabbed at its face and screamed, "MY EYE! It's gone!"
"Alright! That's it!" Suiryu cheered once again. At the same time, Ishisu looked on at her brother's abilities with concern for what affect these powers might be having on him.
Watching Bakuzan flail in pain, Gouketsu commented, "Not bad, Monster Mask. Now come, face me and give me that fight you prom-"
Before Gouketsu could finish, Shunshi landed and sprinted at Bakuzan once more, ignoring the stronger monster's invitation.
By now, his clothes had all been burnt away. That, combined with the unusual way he moved, Shunshi truly seemed like some kind of feral beast.
Bakuzan pulled three of its arms away, revealing that its left eye was still intact and saw Monster Mask rushing at it. In fear, the monster kicked at the Human inferno.
Shunshi easily jumped over this clumsy attack but seemed as if he was going to clip against Bakuzan's clawed big-toe. Bakuzan thought that this would buy it at least a half-second to recompose itself, but was mortified as it felt its toe get clawed from its body.
Making use of its new tool, Monster Mask threw the clawed toe at Bakuzan's face as if it were an oversized dart. Moving fast enough, Bakuzan caught his severed toe with his upper left arm. Unfortunately, it seemed as if this was what Shunshi had planned for. Once that arm was in an indefensible position, Shunsi spun himself like a blender and aimed his trajectory at the limb's elbow.
Before Bakuzan knew what was happening, it saw a Human erupting with a pillar of flames standing on its chest and holding its severed forearm like it was a massive club.
When the pain began to set in, Bakuzan screamed in agony. Halting his prey's screams, Shunshi grabbed his newly acquired weapon by its fingers and began to beat the monster with its own body part.
"That's enough, Monster Mask. I don't have much more time to waste. Face me so we can end this," Gouketsu demanded.
Once again toning Gouketsu out, Monster Mask began to laugh hysterically as he savaged Bakuzan. By now, he had spent enough seconds in direct contact with the beast to start igniting its flesh.
At this point, Ishisu began to look at her brother with more concern than anything else. Even Suiryu's excitement began to be slowly replaced with fear, fear that a new flame-based monster might turn its attention to him.
As Gouketsu's patience for combat began to wear out, it noticed something with its farthest left eye. Ishisu was cowering behind a slab of rubble, reminding the giant of what set off this living flame in the first place.
With what could almost be called a hint of excitement in its step, Gouketsu started to walk towards Ishisu.
When the young woman saw that the monster that had torn her brother apart had turned its attention to her, she couldn't help but scream, "No, please!"
Gouketsu expected that this would be enough to gain his target's attention. However, Shunshi seemed deaf to his sister's blight.
As Ishisu was frozen with fear and yelling for help, Monster Mask continued to pummel Bakuzan while shouting, "Suffer! Suffer and burn! Hahaha!"
"Hmm. It seems your brother might be monsterizing on his own. Perhaps if I kill you, I can still get his attention." Gouketsu didn't truly need an excuse to kill but gave one merely to frighten this woman further.
With tears of despair and desperation pouring from her eyes, Ishisu pleaded at the top of her lungs, "SHUNSHI! PLEASE, HELP ME!"
As his sister's words rang out, the flames enshrouding Shunshi's eyes vanished, uncovering an expression of confusion.
Looking at his surroundings, the Hero was baffled as he dropped whatever it was he was holding and saw a giant, four-armed monster laying in pain underneath him. Not only that, but he saw that his body was erupting with more flames than he ever thought he could possibly produce. On top of this, Shunshi noticed that his muscles seemed to be slowly shrinking.
Before he could find the time to question any of this, Shunshi was snapped to his senses by the sound of one last scream from Ishisu.
Without thinking, Monster Mask flipped off of the oddly familiar monster he stood atop and began to run to his sister's side, not even flinching when he saw it was Gouketsu endangering her.
"Don't touch my sister, you scum!"
As he rushed in, Shunshi formed a pair of burn whips and lashed them at Gouketsu.
Not missing a beat, Gouketsu swiftly turned on its heel and swiped at the whips, knocking them away. What surprised Gouketsu, though, was that he could actually feel the heat of that attack.
Not letting this deter him, Shunshi began to twirl horizontally in the air, causing himself and his whips to move like a buzzsaw headed for Gouketsu. This had been a move made out of desperation and instinct. Monster Mask didn't think his body had the raw strength and speed needed for a technique like this but did it anyway in hopes that it might work. To his shock and relief, he found himself pulling off this spinning attack precisely as planned.
Gouketsu raised an arm in defense, successfully stopping the assault from progressing forward, but failing to stop it entirely. This, in it of itself, wasn't bad, but Gouketsu's surprise continued when it began to feel the dullest sense of pain where the whips were striking it. It was nothing serious, like the sensation of someone repeatedly flicking your arm, but the fact that any pain was registering at all took Gouketsu by surprise.
Not wanting to let this continue, Gouketsu shifted his stance and threw a punch at Shunshi. The wind-force alone was enough to knock the Hero back, but he stopped himself from flying too far by lashing the ground with his whips and digging them in.
With the amount of force behind Gouketsu's attack, Shunshi bringing himself to a sudden stop like this, dislocated his arms. However, as he came back to the ground, Shunshi's felt his Kie put his arms back in their sockets in an instant, He paid it no mind, focusing instead on the monster that had brutalized his fellow Heroes, his girlfriend, and was now threatening to do the same to his sister.
"Burn, asshole!" With that battle cry, Shunshi began rushing back in.
As he ran, Shusnhi chucked a half dozen light balls at Gouketsu.
These had yet to have any effect on the monster, so it merely struck a defensive stance and braced itself.
When the balls struck their target, Gouketsu was faced with a lesser level of pain than the burn whips had provided, but the creature was once more surprised that it felt anything at all. The explosions had so much power behind them, though, that Ishisu's eyebrows were nearly singed off.
Before the smoke from the balls could start clearing, Monster Mask emerged through the veil with a jump kick aimed at Gouketsu's eyes. The monster easily raised its hand to block the attack, halting the attack with its palm.
Gouketsu tried to clasp its hand, but Shunshi set off another light ball and used its kinetic force to rocket himself into the ground.
Once he landed, Monster Mask was about to rush for Gouketsu's legs, he was stopped when he heard Ishisu cry, "Shunshi, stop! You're burning me!"
Looking at his sister, the raging Hero saw his sister trying to shield herself from the heat of Shunshi's flames.
Before he could process this, Shunshi was hit with a kick from Gouketsu that sent him flying into one of the stadium's walls at the top of the audience seating.
As Shunshi pulled himself out of the wall and felt his newly broken ribs set themselves back in place, he questioned, "Why do I have all this fire coming off of me?! I can't turn it off! I almost set Ishisu on fire! How am I supposed to fight?!"
Seeing what was happening, Suiryu dragged himself around, pushed himself off the ground as much as he could, and yelled, "Monster Mask, listen to me! Your fire's too hot! Turn on your, uh, Fist Of The Unbreakable Fire Spirit! You won't burn anyone that way, and it's the only way you'll have a chance to win!"
When he heard Suiryu's suggestion, Shunshi thought, "That- That's right! I should do that! Why didn't I think of that...? Why is it so hard to think right now?!"
Looking down at Gouketsu, Shunshi felt a nearly uncontrollable rage flow into his brain. He just bearly got this fury under control as he took a deep breath and activated Fist Of The Impenetrable Fire Spirit. However, as the pillar of fire receded inside of Shunshi's body, he felt a terrible pain. It was as if his form couldn't contain all that Kie and needed a way to let it out.
Shunshi felt as if he was going to explode at any moment, and was about to turn his technique off. However, before he could do that, his eyes drifted back down and saw all the unconscious bodies, Suiryu with his look of fear and desperation, and Ishisu, unable to move as fear consumed her.
As he forced the power to stay inside his body, Shusnhi screamed, "Ishisu, Suiryu, anyone who can still hear me, listen! I'm going to save you, no matter what it costs me!"
Letting out the words he needed to steel himself, Monster Mask jumped all the way from the top of the stadium, down to the remnants of the arena.
When Suiryu heard these words and saw this ray of light come crashing down, he couldn't help but begin to tear up, even if he didn't understand why.
Glaring at Gouketsu, Shunshi launched himself and went to attack the monster with a spinning roundhouse kick. Gouketsu struck a back-stance with one arm to guard itself and the other ready to attack.
The martial arts monster's arm blocked Shunshi kick, leaving an exploding streak along its forearm. In response, Goukestu shifted to a front stance and hit Shunshi with a punch.
Monster Mask did his best to counter with an open-claw strike while he was still in the air, causing a massive explosion of Kie once the two attacks connected.
The blast knocked Ishisu back, sending her flying through the athlete's gate she came running in from. When she landed, she could feel that any of her exposed skin was burned and that the explosion's shockwave might have left her with fractures in her limbs.
Even if she wanted to run from her brother's fight, the pain she was in removed that as an option.
The explosive barrier kept Shunshi from getting thrown back too far, landing near where Bakuzan laid unconscious. Fortunately, the young man touched down on his feet, and as his shattered arm started piecing itself back together, he looked at Gouketsu, surprised by what he saw.
Gouketsu had taken a second to examine its arm and fist, where Shunshi had attacked it. There were small scratches on the monster, the kind a child would get when scraping their knee on some pavement.
Growing ecstatic at this, Shunshi screamed wildly, "You... You see!? I'm gonna burn you! BURN YO-" As he cried out, he felt as his Kie began to escape from him as wild flames.
Punching himself on his head, Monster Mask forced his energy back inwards and groaned in pain, "What am I doing?! Stop losing yourself, Shunshi! That's no way to fight!"
Once it had finished looking at its superficial wounds, Gouketsu quickly took stock of the situation it found itself in.
As a look of genuine frustration appeared on its face, Super Fight's first champions roared, "That's it! I need to go, and you're coming with me, you bastard!"
Using its full strength for the first time since its arrival, Gouketsu rushed Shunshi faster than he could perceive. Before the Hero knew what was happening, he found himself having been kicked halfway up to the clouds. His ribs were shattered once again, and nearly all his organs ruptured as he vomited a stream of blood.
Just as Shunshi's wounds began healing, Gouketsu appeared in the air next to him. Unable to move properly, Shunshi could do nothing as Bakuzan hit him with a full-strength punch. The explosions that had kept the Hero from getting sent flying seconds earlier did nothing against this power, as Monster Mask was sent three miles away.
After sending its prey off, Gouketsu landed on the ground.
It had a few more cuts on its knuckles and toes, but they were just as superficial as the others. Not pausing for even a second, Gouketsu readied another full-strength punch in the direction in the direction it had sent Monster Mask. The wind force alone of this attack took out every bit of the stadium in its path.
Clearly, in a hurry, Gouketsu ran out of the coliseum and towards its target.
Once the unstoppable beast known as Gouketsu left without paying him any mind, Suiryu smiled with more relief than he'd ever felt in his life.
"Well, I guess you ended up saving us after all, Shunshi," Suiryu said with pure gratitude.
As tears of joy began to roll down the young martial artist's face, Bakuzan sat up behind him.
"Even after I became a monster, that bastard Hero still took me apart. And then Gouketsu sent him flying off... That's it, I quit. No more trying to become the strongest," Bakuzan lamented as it nursed its wounds.
Glancing with its remaining eye, Bakuzan just noticed Suiryu laid out next to it.
"I... Listen, Bakuzan. I don't wanna fight anymore, so just let me go, okay?" Suiryu pleaded with fear suffusing his entire being.
Grabbing Suiryu before he could react, Bakuzan began squeezing the younger fighter as one would squeeze a stress ball.
Grinning at Suiryu as he screamed in pain, Bakuzan psychotically explained, "After what I just went through, you think I don't need a way to let out my frustration? Besides, I'm the kind of guy who loves to torment anyone weaker than him! That's the only reason I ever sought strength!"
With the last of his power, Suiryu was able to pull one of his arms free. He had hoped to free himself entirely, but the strength just wasn't there.
"Hehe, still got a spark of life in ya?" Bakuzan asked. It was those words that genuinely sunk in the gravity of the situation Suiryu found himself.
"A spark? As in, once it's gone, I'm gonna die?" The young thought to himself in dread.
With no other hope for survival, Suiryu began screaming, "HELP MMEEEEE! SOMEONE! ANYONE! THERE'S A MONSTER HERE! IT'S TRYING TO KILL ME! PLEASE, IT WON'T STOP UNTIL I'M DEAD! PLEASE! Is... IS THERE A HERO!? PLEASE, HEROES! I'M HERE! JUST FOLLOW THE SOUND OF MY VOICE! HEROES...! MONSTER MASK, COME BACK! HELP MMEEEE!"
Looking at the rubble of the arena floor, Suiryu saw Lightning Max and Bitting Fist Sneck laying in pools of their own blood.
Reaching to them, the young man sobbed weakly, "Please... I need a Hero. Even if it's just for a second, please, get back up... I don't want to die."
In the grip of a killer monster, his life about to end, Suiryu realized, perhaps too late, the admirable value of Heroes, "When a person finds themselves thrown into the deepest darkness, they search for a light. It doesn't matter how small it is or how faint. What matters is that it's there."
As Suiryu finished that thought, Bakuzan crushed the two Heroes, and the girl laying next to them, under its massive foot.
"Nobody's coming. Give up, Suiryu." As Bakuzan said this, it turned back to see the look of despair on Suiryu's face. However, Suiryu wasn't there, in fact, Bakuzan's entire hand had vanished. Actually, upon further inspection, the monster realized that its entire arm had been removed from its socket.
Screaming wildly in pain, Bakuzan didn't notice the Caped Baldy, with its arm, Suiryu, Max, Sneck, and Lin Lin at his feet.
This new arrival was standing in the monster's new blind spot, and so had a moment to speak.
As Suiryu, tears still in his eyes looked at Saitama in awe, the world's strongest Hero told him, "You did well fighting on your own. I'm a Hero, and I heard your cry. I'll handle things from here."
Without even waiting for the creature to notice him, Saitama went up to it and punched its torso off, leaving Suiryu's jaw dropped.
When Saitama walked back to Suiryu, the younger man asked, "I... What...? If... If you could beat him like that, then why did you...?" As he trailed off, Suiryu looked at Bakuzan's arm.
Seeing what Suiryu was talking about, Saitama emotionlessly explained, "Had to make sure he didn't crush you as a reflex when I punched him."
"Are... are you really a Hero? Aren't you the guy Shunshi was fighting in the finals?" Suiryu asked, trying to understand what was happening.
Looking at Suiryu with a small smile, Saitama answered, "Name's Saitama, and I'm a Pro Hero. Now, speaking of Shunshi-"
"Wait, so you faked your identity to get in the tournament?" Suiryu interrupted.
Sweat fell from Saitama's bald head at this, thinking to himself, "Ah, crap."
"But, you even wore a wig. Why-"
Before Suiryu could finish, Saitama cut him off now, "Listen, that girl in the hall said Shunshi was still here fighting. Where is he?"
Surprised initially, Suiryu quickly pointed to the destroyed section of the stadium building and explained, "Gouketsu sent him flying that way. Gouketsu's this huge monster, who was the first Super Fight champion. I don't know if anyone could ever beat him... He was saying that he wanted to turn Shunshi into a monster too."
Saitama cocked an eyebrow at this and asked, "Turn Shunshi into a monster? How's he gonna do that...? Well, I guess I'd better go."
"What!? Weren't you listening to what I just said?!" Suiryu shouted.
Standing up, Saitama turned to the hole in the building and said, "Yeah, I heard you. It'll be fine."
Grabbing Saitama's boot, Suiryu pleaded, "I know you probably want to save him, but Shunshi was able to defeat Bakuzan too, but he was powerless against Gouketsu! You'll only die too! Stay here!"
Dragging Suiryu a bit when he shuffled forward, Saitama told him, "Hey, don't move around like that. You'll hurt yourself."
Gritting what was left of his teeth, "I'm not letting go! I can't let you throw your life away! Not now that I owe you mine!"
"Look, Shunshi's my..." Saitama let out an annoyed sigh before continuing, "He's my... disciple. I have to help him if he's in real danger. That's just what Heroes do anyways."
This revelation shook Suiryu for an instant before he tightened his grip and exclaimed, "You're his... master...? NO! I can't let you go! I-" Before he could say anything else, Saitama pulled his boot free and began jogging off.
Watching as the man who saved him marched on to meet his death, all Suiryu could do was cry, scream, and smash at the ground with his semi-good hand.
"Damnit! Saitama was such a strong Hero! He was supposed to go on to save so many more people!" Suiryu lamented as Saitama walked out of ear-shot.
Once he jogged into the city, Saitama could hear explosions and crashing noises in the distance. Assuming that following these noises would bring him to Shunshi, the Caped Baldy walked along the path of destruction that these sounds echoed through.
After entering a recently abandoned town square, Saitama found the monster known as Gouketsu.
It had a few noticeable scratches on it, but nothing severe. Clasped between its hands, the monster held something that seemed to be repeatedly blowing up.
"If you're able to keep this up for a few hours, you might leave a scar on my hands. Now, I'm taking you back to have Lord Gyoro Gyoro break your mind and body. If it's any consultation, I'll enjoy your suffering."
Walking up to the martial art beast, Saitama asked, "Hey, your name Gosetyou? What ya got there?"
As Gouketsu turned around to get a look at who said that, it found no one. Instead, as soon as the monster had turned around, it felt its hands getting pried open.
Quickly snapping its head back, Gouketsu saw some bald guy in a yellow superhero outfit with one of its thumbs in each of his hands. Once the monster's hands were separated, Shunshi fell to the ground as another pillar of flames erupted from him. By now, Shunshi's muscle mass had deflated down to half of what it'd normally be.
As Shunshi crawled along the ground, his insides trying to pull themselves back together, the young man thought to himself, "What's happening...? Oh God, I've never been hit that hard before in my life."
Gouketsu tried to grab at Saitama, but the world's strongest man had already rushed to the ground by the time the monster had reached for him.
Seeing this unknown individual now standing at a safe distance from the injured Monster Mask, Gouketsu thought to itself strenuously, "He overpowered my grip-strength and moved faster than I could follow... I don't know who this man is, but it will take all of my martial talents to defeat him."
Watching Shunshi climb to his feet with the smallest hint of concern on his face, Saitama spoke, "Hey, Shunshi... Sorry for showing up late, but um, I've got a few questions. First... Why are you naked? Second, are your muscles shrinking again? What's up with that? Third, why's your hair flinging around? And is it turning white? Fourth, I don't know how you're doing it, but could cut back on all that fire? You almost singed my costume when I got you out of there."
Realizing that the bald man wasn't keeping his guard up, Gouketsu quickly went at him with a sweeping kick.
Catching the kick coming out of the corner of his eye, Saitama gave a half-hearted backhand in retaliation, destroying Gouketsu's leg.
Before this monster of legend could process what had just happened, it saw Saitama appear in front of its face. Without a word, the Caped Baldy threw a punch that sent Gouketsu's head flying off of its shoulders.
As Gouketsu's wrecked body fell dead to the ground, Saitama grumbled, "So, that guy was the one giving you trouble, right? You aren't hurt too badly, are you, Shunshi?"
Suddenly, Shunshi, whose eyes were once more whited out with flames, stepped up to Saitama.
Grabbing his Master's shoulder, Monter Mask growled out, "Burn! Have to make him suffer and BURN!" Trying to push past Saitama to reach Gouketsu's body, Shunshi was once again raving like a mad-man.
However, before the living explosion could finish taking a step past his Master, Saitama lightly slapped him atop his head and said, "Hey. I told you to knock that off. Any longer, and you mighta burned my cape."
Laying face-down in the middle of a small crater, Shunshi's uncontrolled fire had been put out.
"I... I've never been hit that hard before," the younger man groaned weakly at his teacher's feet.
Getting to his knees, Shunshi looked at his surroundings with confusion, questioning, "Did I... blackout again?"
Before he could get an answer, the black-haired youth got a white cape thrown on him.
Pulling his face out from underneath the fabric, Shunshi looked up and saw Saitama.
"Ma... Master Saitama?" He asked as tears began to roll down his face.
"Yo. Come to your senses?" Saitama questioned back.
Making sure to keep himself covered with his Sensei's cape as he stood up, Shunshi alerted him, "Master! I don't know if I got away from it or something, but I was fighting a Dragon Level monster named Gouketsu. It's been the hardest fight of my life, and he might even be tough enough to give you a rough time!"
With a blank look, Saitama pointed behind Shunshi.
Following his Master's finger, Shunshi saw the dead body of the previously unkillable Gouketsu.
At first, he was stunned, but acceptance quickly washed over his face, followed by an exhausted smile.
"Guess I forgot what I learned when you beat Sonic for the first time. I should never underestimate you, Saitama-Sensei," Shunshi wheezed out.
Placing his hand on Shunshi's smaller than usual shoulder, Saitama gave off one of his dopy smiles and told his disciple, "So, you probably weren't listening before, so I'll say it again. Sorry for showing up so late. I went to use the bathroom once security stopped chasing me. And sorry that you had to go through all this, especially after you just won that tournament. You put up a great fight by yourself, though."
When Saitama said this, Shunshi perked up ever so slightly, responding, "Thank you, Sensei... I'm never gonna stop training until I can take on monsters like Go- OH MY GOD! I need to go back to the stadium and make sure Ishisu, Lin, and everyone else is okay!"
With that, Shunshi began running back towards the Super Fight tournament grounds, the cape bellowing just enough to uncover his nether regions.
Running behind him, Saitama yelled, "For God's sake, dude, cover-up first! You're gonna get arrested for streaking!"
After less than a minute of running, the two were back at the stadium.
Saitama and Shunshi found Suiryu on the ground, looking at Gouketsu's head, which just so happened to land next to him, with utter shock.
Crouching down to talk to the martial artist at eye-level, Saitama whispered, "Good to see you're still holding it together. By the way, the fact that I entered under a false name, could we keep that a secret?"
After that, Shunshi approached him as well and asked, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Suiryu..." Before Suiryu could say anything to that, Shunshi walked away and went to check on Lin Lin.
Looking back at Shunshi for a moment, Suiryu turned back to Saitama and asked, "So, you managed to save Monster Mask too... Was Gouketsu a strong opponent?"
Placing his hand to his chin, Saitama responded, "Well, it's hard to tell when they all get taken out with one punch."
"There's something else I want to ask. I need time to recover, and I'm scared to death of monsters now... But, if I can ever overcome my fears, do you think someone like me could ever be a Hero?" Suiryu questioned.
"I don't know," Saitama answered without hesitation.
Suiryu was visibly surprised by this answer, but Saitama went on, "Well, I mean before I became way too strong, I got thrashed all the time. And I'd be lying if I said I was never scared when I went to fight monsters. But, I eventually pulled it off. So, if I could become a Hero, I guess anyone can, right?"
Smirking in amusement, Suiryu asked, "You're too strong? Must be nice. Saitama, can I ask you one last thing...? Would you make me your disciple, like Shunshi?"
Saitama's expression was blank at first before he looked over at Shunshi. His second disciple was preoccupied with checking the pulses of all the unconscious fighters before heading into one of the athlete's gates.
Letting off a humbled smile, Saitama answered, "Absolutely not. If you think I did a good job training Shunshi, then just ask him for some pointers. He's a friendly guy, I'm sure he'll let you in on the training he does."
Not wanting to get pressured any further to take on more disciples, Saitama quickly turned around and jumped away after that.
A few minutes later, Shunshi, fully dressed in his Hero Armor now, walked out onto the arena with his Ishisu in his arms. On the armored man's shoulder, Saitama's cape was flung atop.
Seeing his rival return in full Hero garb, Suiryu asked, "Is that you, Monster Mask?"
Gently setting Ishisu down, Shunshi answered in an amused tone, "Yep. See where I get my name from now?" For emphasis, Monster Mask lightly knocked on his helmet.
"But, the fighting's over. Why'd you take the time to put that on?" Suiryu asked further.
Folding his arms and looking over at the hole in the stadium Gouketsu had left behind, Shunshi explained, "Well, I'm not exactly at a hundred percent right now, and we don't know if more monsters are gonna show up. So, just in case, I figured I'd put my armor on. The Hero Association is gonna be sending out emergency ambulances to all the places hit by monsters, and I gotta make sure you guys are all safe until then. And this suit's made from some pretty tough stuff. I could've put off using Kie a lot longer if I'd fought you in this baby."
"Also, I wouldn't let him touch me unless he put some clothes on. I don't care how worried you are about me, that's just gross, Shunshi, " Ishisu jokingly commented as she laid down. Shunshi chuckled awkwardly at that, while his sister giggled at him. This even managed to get a smirk from Suiryu.
There were a few minutes of awkward silence after this, so Suiryu decided to break the ice by asking the Hero standing guard over him, "Hey... Shunshi. Do you know why Saitama entered Super Fight, to begin with?"
Initially, Shunshi was surprised that Suiryu was making conversation.
Still, the Hero had no desire to be rude and answered, "From what he told me, he wanted to experience martial arts to improve his skills as a fighter. Sensei's already the strongest man in the world, but he's also someone who'll never stop trying to improve himself. For that and a lot of other reasons, I think Saitama-Sensei's the greatest Hero in the world."
Throwing out another comment, Ishisu said, "Well, he's saved your butt and helped make you as strong as you are now, so the Caped Baldy's got my vote."
Fully smiling at this, Suiryu went on, "So, I asked Saitama if He'd make me his disciple too, but he turned me down and said that... you could give me some pointers. You see, I... I want to become a Hero too."
At that, Suiryu would've seen Shunshi go wide-eyed if it hadn't been for his helmet.
Contemplating this for a few seconds, eventually, Shunshi sat down next to Suiryu and told him, "Well, if Master thinks I can really help, I guess I'll explain what I can for now." Shunshi went on to explain in detail the steps he went through to unlock the power of Kie to Suiyru.
Looking at the ground, Suiryu contemplated aloud, "Well, I've never been all that into meditation. I'm not very good at it, to begin with, actually..."
As Suiryu kept thinking about what to do, Shunshi hesitantly gave his rival an offer, "... Hey, if you really mean what you're saying about becoming a Hero, then... Then how about once you've recovered, you swing by Silver Fang's dojo? I train there too. It's where I picked up Fist Of Flowing Water Crushing Rock... We could train together, I could help you with your meditation, and show you what Master Saitama's been showing me." Suiryu raised his eyebrows at this, having to process the offer he'd just been given.
"I... Well, my gramps is actually a rival of Silver Fang's. He'd probably be pretty annoyed if I went to study at a competitor's school," Suiryu explained in a seemingly hesitant tone.
Rubbing the back of his hooded-head, Shunshi responded, "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
Cutting Monster Mask off, Suiryu continued, "So, yeah, I'm in!"
Jutting back at that, Shunshi hesitated before asking, "You, uh... You don't get along with your grandpa?"
Shaking his head, Suiryu explained with a semi-toothless smile, "Nah. We just like messing with each other... Sides, if it means I can train with a great Hero like you, I'd be up for it... Shunshi-Senpai." That last part was spoken as more of a question than as a form of addressing Shunshi.
Shunshi's hidden eyes were like saucer plates at this point, hardly able to comprehend the change in attitude he was seeing from a man who had been so arrogant and condescending early that same day.
After distilling his thoughts, Shunshi smiled behind his helmet and said, "I'd be happy to train with you, Suiryu, and if that's what you wanna call me, then go ahead. But if the guy I fought was someone who hadn't trained for years, then I don't think I'll be keeping that title for long."
Shaking his head once again, Suiryu told the A-Class Hero, "No, it's not for your strength. I wanna become a great Hero like you and Saitama. And I don't know if I'll ever match you in that field, Senpai."
This praise left the young Hero truly speechless for a minute. Eventually, Shunshi found what he hoped would be the right words.
"I don't know if that's true... I wasn't sure a man like you could've ever changed, Suiryu, but you just proved me wrong... Watta ya say once we start training together, we make sure to keep helping each other to become people on top of being better warriors?" With those words, Shunshi extended a hand to Suiryu.
His eyes lighting up at that, Suiryu extended his good arm and returned the offer.
"Of course, Monster Mask-Senpai! I look forward to being able to stand alongside men like you and Master Saitama in the world of Heroes."
Having watched this conversation in silence, Ishisu smiled at its conclusion.
"You really have matured a lot, haven't you, Shunshi? Heh. Keep marching forward, baby bro. Keep marching forward," Ishisu thought as she looked at the clouds above the stadium that hadn't been scattered by Gouketsu.
Once they'd made their promise, Suiryu thought to ask, "So, I'm curious. What even was that thing you did where you burned off all your clothes?"
"I... Don't actually know. I think it might've happened to me once or twice before, but this is the first time I actually have any clear memory of what happened during it," was the best answer Shunshi could give.
Smiling nervously, Suiryu commented, "That's... more than just a little scary. You should probably figure out how it works before you really hurt someone."
"Yeah, you're probably right... Wanna help me come up with a name for it?" Shunshi asked, somewhat eagerly.
As the survivors of the twenty-second Super Fight continued to make conversation as they waited for aid, the Hero Hunter had arrived in B-City, covered in claw-marks and bruises.
While dragging himself along the wall of a building, Garou lost his footing and slumped to the ground. While on his knees, the Human Monster grabbed at his jaw with both hands and pushed. As a cracking and crunching noise filled the air for a second or two, Garou rammed his dislocated jaw back into place.
Taking one deep breath after another, Garou thought to himself, "Who would've thought that asshole in a furry suit woulda been so damn strong?! He stopped chasing me once I got a good distance from his plaza, but the bastard almost killed me...! Even so, I think I learned something. My fighting style is only meant for people, but that freak fought like an animal, and I could hardly touch him... Heh haha! Now that I know this, I feel alive! I need to learn to adapt my fighting style for all body-types. Next time, I'll be even stronger, and Watchdog Man won't stand a chance...! And my skin... I didn't know I could take hits like that... Was it cause of the blast Monster Mask hit me with...? Heh heh HAHAHAHA! Maybe I should be thanking that dickhead for not throwing in the towel! Next time I meet him, I'll be sure to have a present waiting to thank him for toughening up my hide."
After coming out of his thoughts, Garou realized he'd wandered into the middle of a street.
"Huh, wow. I really spaced out there," Garou thought as he observed his surroundings.
Once the Hero Hunter looked directly in front of himself, his breath was nearly taken away when he saw King on a bicycle, riding towards him. If it wasn't for the fact that King was talking to some other Hero with a bald head, then humanity's mightiest defender might've noticed him by now.
"King?! The S-Class Hero?! The world's strongest man?! What should I do? I'm all beat up, but I'll never get another chance like this again... I can still move my body, and I'm not even in pain. I fact, I feel so stoaked right now! I'm full of strength! I'll do it! Prepare to be hunted, King!"
Visualizing every move King could possibly make from his current position, Garou rushed in.
"I can read you, King! Prepare yourself!"
Just noticing the red-haired weirdo covered in blood rushing him, all King could get out was, "Huh?"
Before Garou could get in close enough for an attack, the bald nobody lightly kicked him in his side, sending the Hero Hunter through a wall.
Looking back to King, Saitama asked, "Do you know who that dude was?"
"I didn't get a good look at him, but I don't think so," King answered.
With a look that showed he was just ever so put out, Saitama complained, "Great. First, a monster invasion and now random muggings are on the rise. Do you know what's causing all this? The Hero Association contact you or anything?"
"I got some calls asking me to be a bodyguard. Had to turn those down, obviously. Aside from that, I've heard mentions about some kind of new monster group. They probably caused all of this. On top of that, the Hero Hunter's still on the loose."
Looking at the sky, Saitama commented, "Hmm. I know Shunshi wants to take that guy down by himself, but I gotta admit, the Hero Hunter intrigues me. Kinda hope I find him first. He makes me think about my early days when I was first becoming a Hero. Makes me wanna look for him myself."
Surprised by that, King asked, "Really?"
"Yeah, he's the first Human going around calling himself a monster. It kinda makes me think about when I first went around calling myself a Hero. He's gone a couple of rounds with Shunshi now, and Shunshi's got some crazy new powers recently, so he might be kinda strong, right? He might even be strong enough to give me a fight by the time I run into him," Saitama explained.
As the two walked away from the outline of Garou Saitama had left in the side of a building, King added, "Well, if that's the case, I hope you find him soon."
A few hours later, the Hero Association had sent out their emergency ambulances, with enough arriving at the Super Fight arena for everyone.
By now, Lin Lin had actually managed to regain consciousness. As she was being carted into the hospital wagon, she called Shunshi over as he was finishing helping the medics.
Once he was done, he took off his helmet and went to speak with her.
"Hey, Lin. What's up?" Shunshi asked somberly.
Looking up at him with a smile, she replied, "Looks like our date's off for now."
Trying to keep a positive look on his face, Shunshi smirked and responded, "Yeah. Guess I'll have to wait till you're out of the hospital for that... I'm gonna need to ask Super Fight for a new check. Mine kinda got scorched in all the fighting."
Shunshi tried to chuckle at this, but Lin Lin grabbed his wrist and told him, "That sounds nice, but I think you've got more important things to worry about. Namely, those monsters Gouketsu said he was working with."
The black-haired Hero was initially off-put by this reminder but quickly understood that Lin Lin was right.
"I'm sorry, Lin," was all he could think to say.
She pouted at that, poked his chest-plate, and told him, "You don't need to apologize, it's those damn monsters who need to say they're sorry. Once I'm out of the hospital, I'll help you beat their heads in."
Shunshi was surprised to hear this, but smiled and responded, "I don't know if there are gonna be any left by then. I'll have killed them all already."
Coughing as she tried to laugh, Lin Lin replied, "Oh, come on. Don't take all the fun."
"Alright, Ms, that's enough. We need to get you moving," the medic by her side said as he lifted her into the ambulance.
Looking at Shunshi as she was loaded in, Lin Lin managed another smile when her boyfriend gave her an encouraging thumbs-up.
Everyone else was getting packed into the ambulances, so Shunshi approached Ishisu and asked, "Think you're gonna be okay?"
Grinning happily at her brother, Ishisu told him, "You bet I'm gonna be!"
"Yeah, her wounds don't look all that bad. At least not compared to everyone else here," one of the medics carrying her assured. With that, Ishisu was loaded up as well, and Monster Mask was left alone in the ruins of the arena, as he had no need for any hospital-grade medical attention.
With everything else taken care of, Shunshi went to go grab his backpack from his waiting room. He made his way there with no other distractions and quickly scooped up his belongings. However, as he was on his way out, he could hear his cellphone ringing from within his bag.
When he checked who was calling, the young Hero was surprised but excited when he saw that Stinger was the one ringing him up.
Answering the phone, Shunshi asked a number of questions, "Hey, Stinger. What's going on? Are you okay? Were there any monsters where you were?"
From the other end of the line, Stinger's voice answered, "Hey, Mask. Don't worry, I'm fine. A handful of monsters attacked my neck of the woods, but I took care of em pretty easily."
Hearing those proud words, Shunshi asked, "Oh, cool... I, uh... Well, I won Super Fight, but then... Actually, it's a long story. I can tell you about it later. What'd you call me for?"
"Right! Listen, Death Gatling says he spotted a guy he thinks might be the Hero Hunter," at that, Shunshi almost reflexively crushed his phone, "And he says he's getting a squad of B and A-Class Heroes together to bring the punk down. You've run-in with the bastard a couple of times, so I recommended you to Death Gatling. I tried calling Genji too, but he says he got hurt in all the fighting and needs to fix his suit. So, are you in?"
Shunshi shook with anticipation and anger for a few seconds before answering bluntly, "Tell me where everyone's meeting."