Garou and Bang slashed at each other, red mixing with blue. They were moving so fast, even Genos himself was impressed.

"Offense and defense in perfect harmony," Raibaru said. "I haven't done martial arts for a while, but... it still always impresses me."

"You were able to put up a rather decent fight against Garou," Genos told her. "You are strong, after all. But... the victor is already clear."

Raibaru nodded. Bang dug his hand into Garou's cheek, knocking him across the ground. Garou got up and lunged towards him, but Bang shoved his knee into his chest. He sent Garou flying through the trees, taking them all out. Garou got only a moment of peace before Bang jumped on him, destroying the ground around him. He then proceeded to punch Garou multiple times.

Damn this old sob, Garou thought, his vision going blurry. I... I'm going to die.

Using the last of his strength, he leaped away from Bang, hopping around the trees on four legs.

"What is this preposterous style?" Bang demanded. "Where'd you pick it up? It's as if you're an animal."

I'm not done! Garou thought. He raced towards Smile Man's body. I can use him as an advantage!

"Oh no you don't," Bomb said, stepping in Garou's path. He kicked Garou in the head, sending him flying. He landed in the blue blood of monsters.

"I took care of the monsters," Bomb said. "Bang, all that remains is Garou!"

Meanwhile, above the fight, a monster by the name of Phoenix Man was flying through the sky. The monster gazed down at the battle, annoyance etched into his feathers.

We sent in a team to bring Garou back alive, but we had no idea Demon Cyborg is so strong, he thought. And then there's Silverfang. I see no way of pulling Garou out. He squinted at the bushes. And where is that Yan-chan girl? It appears she has left. I need to bring back something, or Orochi might devour me next... I need Garou to somehow get through this alive.

Bang and Bomb turned to face Garou, hands up.

"I can't believe he's still going," Raibaru muttered, mostly to herself. "How strong is he?"

Genos didn't say anything, instead focusing on the battle. Bang and Bomb charged towards Garou, slicing him up with their moves.

These bastards are ganging up on me, Garou thought, angrily. They're both powerful. I can't even sob for my life, because Demon Cyborg would never let me go. The only thing I can pray on is that Yan-chan girl helping me, but she's nowhere! Useless bitch. My only way out of this is killing all three of them!

He groaned as Bang sliced him across the face.

But that's impossible...

"Feel the pain Charanko felt, Garou!" Bang yelled.

Garou blinked, his vision fading in and out. He saw his life flashing before his eyes.

"I am Justice Man!" the most popular boy in class said, standing on top of the playground. He kicked another student from behind.

"That must've hurt," Garou said, timidly.

"Okay, then, you be the monster," the boy replied.

"What?" Garou asked.

"You be the monster!" his fellow classmates taunted. "You be the monster!"

Everything about this sucks, older Garou thought, watching the scene. What was his name...

"You're the monster now, got it?" the boy told Garou.

That's right, older Garou thought. Tacchan. The most popular kid in class.

The children surrounded Garou, staring him down.

"What happened?"

"We were just playing heroes, but then Garou went ballistic on Tacchan."

"What the heck? What's wrong with him?"

"Poor Tacchan!"

Then Garou was sitting in the teacher's office, facing the teacher.

"Why did you get into that fight?" the teacher asked. "Is it true you became violent over heroes and monsters?"

Garou frowned. "Tacchan is always..."

"Can't you tell what's real and what's pretend?" the teacher asked, scowling down at him.

"No, that's not it," Garou cried. "I'm always the monster and-"

"You're the one who lost his temper!" the teacher shouted. "How will you make up for it?"

It's not like I didn't want to be the monster, older Garou thought. Did I always hate that the hero was Tacchan? No, it's not that. It's that playing heroes and monsters felt overwhelmingly unjust. Tacchan was always the most popular kid in class. But I was the loner kid with no friends. Everyone knew who the hero was going to be. I didn't stand a chance.

There's no scenario where the monster wins, he thought,watching as his younger self got beaten up by Tacchan. I was always the loser.

"I know what it feels like."

Older Garou turned around, facing... Ayano Aishi.

"What-" he spluttered. "What are you doing here?!"

"Aren't we partners?" she asked. "We might have more in common than I originally thought."

"What do you mean?" Garou asked.

"I was bullied when I was a child as well," Ayano explained. "They saw me as a monster because... I was strange to them."

"The other kids said you got violent while you were playing."

"That's not true! Tacchan is just popular, so everyone is making me into the bad guy."

"You can't behave like that! Apologise now!"

"Only when I started acting like a 'normal person', the bullying stopped," Ayano said. "But inside, nothing changed. I was still empty." She looked away. "Society has rules, Garou. And if you don't fit in, they throw you out. That is the flaw of this world."

Garou clenched his fists. "Screw justice and evil. I don't care about that! I just want to strike a blow for the little guy!"

"I want to be normal," Ayano admitted. "I want to know what it's like to feel alive."

"Class, we have a new student. Please welcome Megami Saikou."

Garou grimaced. Not her... I don't want to remember her again.

"Why can't you be more like the new girl, Megami Saikou?"

"Yeah, she's amazing!"

That girl... she ruined everything, Garou thought, scowling. Tacchan was nothing compared to her.

"But does it really matter anyway?" Ayano asked. "When I become strong enough, I won't have to fit in anywhere. I can tear society apart and build it to be the way I want it to be. Don't you agree?"

"You're starting to make sense," Garou told her.

He zapped himself back to the real world, facing the martial arts brothers.

"This is the end, Garou!" Bang yelled.

"Nothing's ended!" Garou shouted, destroying the ground around him.

"What the-" Bang stammered, watching Garou scream.

"Bang, look above you!" Genos shouted.

Phoenix Man appeared, flapping his wings and summoning a strong breeze. The wind caught the S Class heroes and Bomb off-guard. It was strong enough to send them all flying, including Garou. Phoenix Man swooped down and grabbed Garou in his claws, and zoomed off into the sky.

"Garou!" Raibaru shouted.

Genos turned his arms and hands into a spiral machine gun. He aimed it at Garou and Phoenix Man.

"Genos...?" Bang asked.

"Genos, please, you can't!" Raibaru pleaded.

"He is a monster now," Genos said, keeping his eye on Phoenix Man and Garou. "I will shoot both of them down!"

"I, Phoenix Man, have got Garou!" Phoenix Man announced. "I will leave the others to you, Centichoro!"

"Spiral Incineration Cannon!" Genos yelled, sending a wave of energy towards Garou and Phoenix Man. However, before the energy could make an impact, Elder Centipede burst out of the ground. The enormous monster stood in front of Garou and Phoenix Man, protecting them. To the horror of the humans, the monster was barely affected.

"What is this devilry?!" Bomb exclaimed.

Elder Centipede broke up the ground with his massive body, launching the martial artists and Genos into the air.

"Is that a living creature?!" Bomb demanded.

"Guys, the other heroes!" Raibaru yelled. Glasses was about to fall into an abyss, but someone caught him.

"Yan-chan!" Genos shouted.

"Ayano!" Raibaru gasped.

Ayano lugged Glasses' body over her shoulder.

"They are all already dead," she called. "Shall I retrieve their corpses anyway?"

"Yes!" Bang replied. "We'll need to return their bodies to their families!"

Ayano nodded, racing through the crevices to retrieve the other bodies.

"That thing took the full brunt of Genos' attack without even getting a scratch," Bang said, looking at Elder Centipede. "This adversary will no doubt be fearsome indeed..."

"You should take note from Yan-chan, Hero Hunter," Phoenix Man told Garou, as they flew over the battlefield. "She was unafraid to kill those heroes."

Garou scowled. "But I was the one who knocked them down."

"You make a good partnership, then," Phoenix Man replied. "What I don't understand is... why has she returned to the battle, only to save the heroes she killed?"

"Don't ask me," Garou grunted. "Anyway, put me down! I don't want to be part of your crap!"

"Maybe I should have gone back and taken that Yan-chan girl," Phoenix Man mused. "She would've been more cooperative."

Garou scowled.

"The elimination of two Class S heroes makes this very worthwhile for us," Phoenix Man said. "You saw that firsthand for yourself. According to our strategist Gyoro-Gyoro, the only ones who could resist Centichoro are the powerful psychic with abilities beyond any other, Tornado of Terror, the recluse with an arsenal of military technology, Metal Knight, the hero called the strongest human, King, the impossibly wealthy and supposedly untouchable hero Goddess, and the top-ranked hero who nearly killed Centichoro, Blast. Centichoro is working with the Monster Association specifically to get vengeance against Blast. He's quite desperate to get a rematch with the hero. From a match-up perspective, those two S Class heroes lack the means to escape from their present predicament. Silver Fang boasts..."

But Garou tuned out. All he could think of was Goddess.

You're next, bitch, he thought. Watch out.

The Monster Association never considered Saitama. Not that they knew who he was.

But he came out of nowhere, and defeated Elder Centipede with one punch. The monster was shattered into nothing.

Genos coughed. The monster had stripped him down to nothing, but his master had taken it out with one punch.

Master Saitama is truly amazing, he thought. Even now, I still cannot hold a candle to him.

Meanwhile, Raibaru was still grieving over Garou.

"Don't worry," Ayano told her, gently. "You still have me."

"Thank you, Ayano..." Raibaru said, smiling. "You're my only friend now."

Genos glanced over at Ayano.

She is getting stronger as well, he thought. But still... I cannot help but feel there is something strange about her. My scanners tell me she is human, but... perhaps when this is over, I will study her more closely...

"We've found recently that the hero hunter Garou killed 7 heroes."

"Seven? He killed seven heroes?"

"Where exactly is Garou at the present time?"

"The current location of Garou is unknown. He may have been taken in by the Monster Association."

"So many heroes ending up dead, or severely injured... even the ones like Sneck and Asu Rito... so Garou is killing heroes after all?"

"He must be, though it is odd he only introduced himself recently. This means he probably works for the Monster Association."

"Not to mention the Sweet Mask incident..."

"With such a lack of heroes, we need all hands on deck, and all the Class S heroes we can get."

"We will gather the heroes we have and send them into the Monster Association."

"The A Class hero Yan-chan - the one Sweet Mask... harassed - has been killing a lot of monsters recently. Perhaps it is best to place her in the top ten of Class A."

"With Black Turtle being rank 1, I agree."

The night of the fall formal was here at last. Through the troubles, pain, drama, it had finally come.

Taro Yamada was sweating in his black and white tux. A rose was in his right breast pocket, matching his red tie. He looked around the decorated assembly hall: the posters on the wall, the clothed tables full of food, the colourful lights in the ceiling. The Light Music club was on the stage, playing their original song 'Panther'. The other students were dressed in dresses and tuxedos. They walked and danced by, and Taro couldn't help but overhear some of their conversations:

"Is Megami-sama coming?"

"I don't think so, she's still dealing with family business.."

"Wow, she can't even be bothered to attend the fall formal..."

Taro continued sweating, his fists clenched into tight balls. Maybe it was because he wasn't much of a party-goer, or it was due to all the monster mayhem. Heroes were literally dying. He couldn't help but feel a bit sick.

Not to mention Osana and Amai...

... but this was Akademi. This was life. He had to move on, and enjoy himself... right?

"Big brother! Big brother!"

... oh, right. His little sister was here too. She was clinging onto his arm.

"Let's dance!" she chirped.

"Not yet, Hanako," Taro said, calmly. "We have to wait for Yan-chan."

Hanako pouted. "She's taking too long!"

"My apologies. I did not want to make you wait."

Taro turned around, and his jaw dropped. Standing there was Ayano Aishi, wearing a long, silky, black dress. Eyeshadow was around her eyes, making them stand out, as well as bright red lip-stick. A rose was on top of her ponytail, and her bangs had been adjusted so one of them partly covered her left eye. She gave him a gentle smile as she took a step forward. On her feet were black flats.

"Wow..." Taro went bright red. "You look... beautiful, Yan-chan..."

Ayano bowed. "Thank you, Senpai. You look nice as well."

"What about me?" Hanako whined.

"Very nice," Ayano said, giving her a brief nod.

"Well, big bro?" Hanako asked, grabbing Taro's hands. "Can we dance now?"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Taro sweat-beaded. He turned to Ayano. "Hey, uh, do you mind if I dance with my sister for a bit...? I'll be right back."

"I don't mind," Ayano nodded. As Taro ran off to dance with his sister, Ayano stared at the Strawberry Thieves on the stage. The leader, Miyuji Shan, also known by her hero alias Strawberry Thief, was singing into the mic.

"Her eyes are dark as she stalks her prey... she's gonna make sure she gets. Her. Way."

Ayano couldn't help but feel called out. From what she knew about Miyuji, she was a disciple of Atomic Samurai. She would have to do something about her.

"Hey, I'm back," Taro said. He grabbed Ayano's hand. "I managed to distract my sis for a bit, so we can dance." He blushed. "Well, only if you want to!"

Ayano smiled. "Of course I do."

The Strawberry Thieves changed their song as Ayano and Taro moved onto the dance floor, and stood there awkwardly.

"You know how to dance?" Taro asked her, blushing.

"No," Ayano admitted.

"Me neither," Taro laughed. "But... hey, we don't have to do some corny ballroom dance, right? We can... do whatever we want!"

Ayano nodded, taking Taro's hand as they began to jive. Taro swung her around, the light shining on her face. As she wrapped her arm around his waist, he realised how beautiful she was. Glimmering grey eyes, a gentle smile, yet an athletic figure... she was like a pristine doll.

Some people might've said Ayano had a boring or plain appearance. But not Taro. He liked ordinary. He liked plain. Ayano had everything he could've asked for in a woman. And not to mention she was a hero. That sealed the deal for him. She was... the one.

Their faces grew close as the music slowed down. Their noses were inches apart.

Taro went red, moving his head away. His heart was racing at a million miles per hour. But for a second, nothing mattered. The only thing that mattered right now was the girl in his arms.

"And this one's for all the lovebirds!" Miyuji called, and her band began to play a cheesy romance song.

"Lovebirds..." Taro said, smiling at Ayano. "Hey, Yan-chan, do you think-"

"Big brother!"

Taro tried not to groan as his sister appeared beside him.

"Let's dance again!" she chirped.

"Hanako," he sighed, grumpily. "I'm kind of busy now."

Hanako began to whimper, tears forming in her eyes.

"Okay, okay," Taro waved his hands. "I'll dance with you." He gave Ayano an apologetic look as he was dragged off by his sister. She just smiled at him, once more. How lucky he was that she was so patient.

"Hey, Yan-chan!"

Ayano turned around as Taro ran over to her. She was standing by the punch table, next to Raibaru.

"I... I managed to lose her again..." Taro panted. He offered his hands. "C'mon, let's go!"

Raibaru gave Ayano a nod of farewell as she followed Taro. Stepping through the crowd of students, they went outside, where it was only them and the starry sky.

"Finally, a bit of quiet, huh?" Taro asked, scratching his head. "The Strawberry Thieves are good, but there's only so much rock I can handle..."

Ayano just nodded. She and Taro sat down together, facing the cherry tree on the hill. Due to the evening light, it was just a silhouette.

"Hey, um," Taro coughed. "So, I heard you're Class A rank 2."

"I am." Ayano said.

"That's awesome," Taro grinned. "I'm happy for you! I mean, considering all the heroes that..." he trailed off. He sighed. "Hey, um, can I tell you something?"

"Of course," Ayano replied.

"I've... always wanted to become a hero," Taro said. "Ever since I was a kid, I've dreamed of going out there and saving lives. But..." He stared at his feet. "I'm not strong enough to become a hero. I'm pathetically weak. I... I don't know how long I'd last out there against a monster. Probably not even a second." He laughed, sadly.

Ayano didn't say anything. The two sat in a brief silence.

"You know, about my sister..." Taro cleared his throat. "Don't get me wrong, I love her, it's just... sometimes, I wish she would... leave me alone. Please don't tell her this, but... I was actually kind of happy when she went to that boarding school. I got a long break from her." He paused. "I probably shouldn't be saying that. I mean, Hanako... she has... she has a learning disability, and when she was a kid, she..."

He gritted his teeth. "Other kids used to pick on her. At the time, I... I was really shy, and I wasn't good at standing up to bullies. I felt... awful about it. I blamed myself, for a long time. To make up for it, I spent a lot of time with my sister. I tried everything I could to make her happy. And... it worked! When she spent time with me, she was happy! But... the problem is, she's seventeen now, and... she's still really clingy. As I said before, of course I love her, but... I just wish she would... become her own person. I want to tell her, but every time I try she starts crying and I just can't bring myself to..."

Ayano stayed silent.

Taro blushed. "I'm so sorry. I'm venting too much, aren't I?"

You are, Ayano thought, silently.

Taro's eyes watered. "Dammit... I just... I miss Osana and Amai... they're both dead. I... I don't know what to do, Ayano. Osana was my best friend. I almost lost my mind after she died, but I kept myself together... for Hanako's sake."

Ayano patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. I will always be beside you, Senpai."

Taro smiled at her. "Thanks, Ayano. I appreciate it." He frowned. "Um... but... can I confess something to you?"

"What is it?" Ayano asked.

"I think I might be cursed," Taro said, his eyes creasing. "After all, both Osana and Amai ended up dead... and that was after meeting me. Not only them, but the heroes, and other students, too. What... what if something happens to Hanako? Is it my fault?" He looked away. "I mean, this probably sounds crazy, but I feel like I'm involved in some kind of big conspiracy or something, y'know?"

Ayano didn't reply.

"Yeah, you're right, I am crazy," Taro said, shaking his head. "Sorry, Ayano. I'm just blabbing again."

Ayano still didn't reply. She just looked at the sky, as the night droned on.