Chapter 32

They made it back to the Association.

Alley, Garou and Melee were waiting as they appeared. Garou sighed with relief as the girls were no worst for wear. But he paused the moment his eyes came upon Jason. "That's new…" he said and pointed the kid out.

He shied away, but cleared his voice. "Garou… sir… can… can you help train me?" he asked nervously.

He didn't refuse, he nodded his head and nudges down the hallway. "Let's get started then… girls, you're good?"

"They hogged…" muttered Akira.

"We left you one!" Luna said defiantly.

The other guys were rolling their eyes to it all, but snickered. Garou sighed as his kids tend to argue over the dumbest things. Any other parent would be worried sick about their kids, yet when they knew 106 wasn't behind it. The concern instantly vanished… well… at least for Garou anyways. Melee was still concerned. When word spread of the incident, Flash made contact with Alley and announced he would resolve the matter instantly. She didn't have time to tell him her brothers were already taking care of it, but he cut off communication.

"Flash does his own thing, best not to push him on details." Garou tried to explain.

Alley sighed, but with everyone back, safe and sound, she went about her business as did her brothers. Melee went along with Tempest, Titan was out training, but still, won't say what he is training on!

"Garou?"

He snapped out of his blank stair as Jason looked up to him nervously. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"Uh… not here… the training room is soundproof right?"

He nodded. The two began to pick up the pace until they made it to the training room. There the door closed and Jason looked up at Garou. "I… I said some things about you and your family that I am not too proud of… you may not have heard my words, but the fact that they were spoken…"

Garou's hand gently went up, the kid silenced himself rather quickly. "I know," he said. "But I also get it too. You were thrown into a situation, had no idea what was happening, let alone how this happened to you. I've been there myself. But the fact remains is this… my family contributed to this change in you… as such, it's our responsibility now to help you. However we can…" Garou paused as Jason nodded his head meekly. "I'm sorry this happened…"

The kid fell silent for a while, he appeared to be deep in thought until he looked up yet, didn't give Garou eye contact. A small smile broke out over him as his hands went on his hips. "I'm just realizing something… Perhaps, as much as I was resolved with my fate… I didn't want to die that way…"

"Wouldn't blame you,"

"But it's more than that!" Jason protested. "I mean… I knew what I wanted, and yet, at the same time. I didn't want to go in such a way… I went on one date… kissed only one girl…" he paused as he turned to Garou. "I didn't want to leave this world regretting anything… the only thing I did regret was never announcing my feelings for her… As angry as I am this happened, as much as I HATE this… how… can I be angry with her?"

This was no longer becoming a sparring session. It was therapy!

With a sigh, Garou took a seat on the ground. "Okay kid, let's hear it. You want to talk more than fight so, get talking,"

Jason forced a smile as he sat himself down. His heart and soul poured out of him as he looked back at everything Zombieman was teaching him in a mere 2 days. In that time he learned a lot about himself and his older brother who knows just how he feels, and yet at the same time, is trying to help him find purpose. "This scares me… a lot…" he said. "I mean, my arms…" Jason was rendered silent as Garou lifted his, they split off into different creatures yet kept attached to his limb. Jason froze at the sight, but then shuttered as they all retracted and became a solid limb once more.

"First time I did that… Melee was bitten by a monster named Wyrm God, made up of thousands of different snakes, each with their own venom. I contorted my limb to become that so I could encase the bastard within. Your… older brother as you call him, was more than obliging to help me sever the limb once I contained the monster… I ate it, and then made anti-venom for Melee. It wasn't enough." Garou then peered off to the side as he remembered what happened next. "I took… my old skin, and placed it over her wounds since my skin… detoxifies venom and poisons on contact. I didn't remove it in time, and that skin grew on her… turning her into what you see her now."

The kid was silent. He had no idea that's how Melee became what she is. "Do you regret it?"

Garou shrugged. "Sometimes… but in the end, Melee never held it against me. She confessed she didn't want to die in such a manner. Don't blame her the least bit on that, but the fact remains that I did that to her. I was desperate to save her, perhaps her body also reacted the way it did, for she herself didn't want to die. I wonder, if perhaps, the same situation happened to you. Perhaps you thought you didn't want to die, and whatever turned you into that… felt it too and did what it thought was necessary to help you."

He nodded his head. "I kept saying I wanted to go home." Jason whispered.

"Yeah, that would do it." Garou then slapped his knees. "Enough talk, let's see what you can do!"

The kid felt more willing to go through with the sparring session. Garou watched as he struggled to control his own actions. He picked up the fear and reluctance of doing so, which made him unable to control his body. "You got to get that out of your head. What are you afraid of?" Garou asked him.

The kid's hands trembled. "I… I'm afraid of everything…" he confessed. "What I can do can really hurt someone…"

"Yeah it can, and that fear is not going to help you." Garou said. "Get rid of your fear!"

Jason calmed himself down, he took a deep breath and tried again. His hand extended, he let it turn to serpents like before, but they appeared a lot calmer than the last time he tried to summon them. They slinked about on the floor for a moment, before he pulled them back and made them his arm once again. "How did that feel?"

Looking to his hands, he nodded. "I felt them, but they were merely an extension of me… I could see through their eyes… and control their actions. I… thought monsters only care about destruction. But, I felt none of that in these…"

"It's because they are part of you. They will do what you want to do, they will fight who you fight for it's your body. Like in martial arts, everything needs to cooperate and work together. Mind, body and spirit. Granted, I don't preach that, Bang never shuts up about it. But the same goes with us. Despite these things appearing, coming off of you, they aren't monsters with their own accord, they are your thoughts!" Garou stated.

Jason's eyes widened in amazement. "They are… aren't they?" he asked.

"Damn right. What becomes of them is what you decide. You got a lot of Z's power. I know that. But also, you have some of my daughter's. What she gave you. I got no idea. But we will have to train to find out."

He smiled once more and nodded… then suddenly, his eyes rolled back!

Jason collapsed, but Garou caught him just before he hit the floor. "Damn kid, pushing yourself a little too hard huh?" he smirked though. Slinging him up and over his shoulder, Garou smirked. "I approve of you to be my new son in law," he announced, but Jason was too tired, he would never remember what he just said. "Let's get you to a bed to rest…"