Chapter 26

He has been waiting outside for him.

It was only a matter of time before Drax had to leave and go to his Neo hero job. Rimuru was waiting for him to excuse himself from the band to go. Yet the moment he stepped out the door, he revealed himself. "Drax!" he called.

He paused. "Rimuru?"

"I… have a favor to ask… can you introduce me to Bang?" he asked. "I… have something I wish to ask him."

A pause came over Drax, then a look of curiosity. "Okay then," he said. "You need to come with me now if that's the case. I am going into work."

Rimuru's eyes widened as he nodded his head. He followed Drax down to the bottom of the stairs and from there, they began to walk towards the Neo Heroes Headquarters that established itself in City Z…

#

He never knew security was so tight for the Neo Heroes, but perhaps it is understandable considering they are just a newly established hero league. Drax had to pull some strings to get Rimuru in, he insisted and vouched for him stating he was a good friend and wished to meet one of his fellow heroes. It was permitted on the grounds that Rimuru not touch anything or disrupt anyone's training.

"You want to walk around for a bit, that's okay. I got to find Accel or someone. Believe it or not, I haven't been called into work for a long while, I want some answers damn it!"

A nod came from Rimuru as Drax went on his way. He found himself wondering about until he heard a commotion outside. Curious, Rimuru ventured out and around the back of the complex. There he saw them. Accel, Raiden and Master Bang training on a giant robot! It was reduced to scrap in mere moments, however Rimuru was amazed that Master Bang could slice through steel so effortlessly!

If anything, Master Bang looked much like his father, Garou.

"Excuse me!" Rimuru called as he gathered his courage.

He approached the three heroes with great caution. Accel and Raiden paused and stared at him oddly. "Who the hell is this kid?" Raiden demanded.

Rimuru didn't know how Bang would react to his request, however, he wanted to learn from him to impress his father. "Excuse me… Silverfang sir!" he called.

It not just caught the attention of Bang, but that of the heroes he was with. Accel and Raiden both paused as they stared at Rimuru oddly. "Wait. How did you know…" Bang began to ask.

"Sir… I wish to learn from you. My name is Rimuru and I wish to learn fists of flowing water," he announced.

He appeared confused as he approached him rather oddly. Taking in his features in and looking into his eyes, Rimuru froze to the glare. It was rather awkward and uncomfortable for him, however he endured as Bang slowly backed up. "Rimuru huh?" he asked.

"Rimuru, what kind of name is that?" demanded Raiden.

"It's my name," he explained. Rimuru turned to Bang. "Master Bang, sir, please take me on as your student."

Accel however came right between them. "I want an explanation here… you come out of NOWHERE and demand an audience with Bang… who not many people know to be him... what are you trying to pull here kid?" he demanded.

He froze to the onslaught of question and inquires, he didn't know what to say until Bang's hand gently came on that of Accel's shoulder. "Perhaps he is a little wiser beyond his years, besides one can be recognized through form and technique and not appearance, right?" Bang asked but gave a strange look to him, compelling Rimuru to play along.

"Ye… Yes! yes, that is exactly how I knew it was him!" he announced.

"Still don't buy it…" muttered Raiden. "But, one wishing to learn from Bang, but have some experience in martial arts to appreciate his methods. Although, I haven't seen him fight…"

"Huh?"

"What we are trying to say kid, is if you want to train with Bang, you need to join us, the Neo Heroes!" Accel explained with a grin on his face.

"Wait, don't pressure the boy…" protested Bang.

"Okay," Rimuru said without hesitation. "Sure, what do I need to do?"

Accel smirked, as did Raiden. "Pass a little test of our to see your potential. If anything we will have you face someone named Darkshine and see how far you get." Accel explained.

"Darkshine, former Class S hero… yeah, I think I can take him. Okay sure!" there was no doubt in his voice and the confidence he has started Accel a little.

But it wasn't quite that by the looks of it. "Your voice…" Accel said offhandedly. "You sound a lot like Amai Mask!"

Rimuru nearly froze, however he had dealt with this all time as he went from master to master learning martial arts. "I get that a lot!" he said with a laugh. "If I had a yen every time someone said that to me, I could retire by now!"

"This ain't his kid, too much personality," whispered Raiden.

Raiden… Rimuru then remembered, Raiden is a sumo wrestler… "Sir… I have to ask you, how did you become yokozuna?"

He was taken aback by the question. "What, are you looking into sumo wrestling?!" he laughed.

He forced a smile. "Yes, in fact… I am…"

'More importantly, I can see for my self and let Tempest know later' Rimuru thought.

"You would have a death wish going up against me kid. Sumo wrestling isn't simple, it's not easy, nor is it for the faint of heart!"

He nodded his head. "It's a hardcore sport, I know. After all, you wear nothing more than a mawashi belt, all that stands between you and your opponent are the skills each of you has, it shows the complexity of the sport but a profound respect for those who are in it."

The three men froze. "Screw the test, take this kid in!" Raiden announced. "Let me train him with Bang here!"

"Really? You want to train him?" Bang asked, but smiled. "Very well then, Rimuru… would you care to join us?"

He nodded, without really knowing what he was getting himself into!

#

He was walked to the Neo Heroes. Rimuru didn't quite know what to expect as he took in the sights and sounds of the Headquarters. Yet at the same time, Bang kept looking to him oddly. Wondering perhaps as to who he really is.

They entered in through the lobby when Rimuru heard a familiar voice. "Still nothing!"

He paused and saw Drax at the front desk.

"Look, I've been patient in seeing if you guys still want me here or not, Bad's back but still no call to help out. Seriously, what the hell!" he demanded. But he paused from his shouting when he saw them. Drax then froze as his eyes came upon Rimuru. "Oh… hey…" he saw awkwardly.

Accel noticed the look. "Wait, Drax, do you know him?!" he demanded.

"Uh…"

"He's joining us in exchange for training, and you will be paid of course. For once, the Neo Heroes will have their own Amai Mask!"

Drax then froze, his eyes widened as Rimuru as if he let the secret out. "Hey! Just because I look like the jackass doesn't mean I am related to him!" he said and awkwardly laughed.

Drax sighed with relief, in which Bang caught. "Accel, let me speak with our new recruit here… and Drax, why don't you join me, perhaps we will have a new partner for you after all!"

Accel was hesitant. "I don't know Bang… What if you are going to convince them…"

"Convince them of what? Look, Drax just came here to insist he wants back out on patrol. He could have joined the association in his off time but didn't. I know how to train young, promising men like these two here. So, do you want me to help out or not?!" With Bang being so young, his voice was firm and yet carried weight in the Neo Heroes.

Accel sighed and nodded in agreement, Raiden turned to Rimuru and stated. "You better be ready for when we spar, got it!"

"You are going to spar with him!?" Drax demanded.

"Yeah…" Rimuru said with a hint of excitement to his voice.

With that, he was ushered out of the room by Bang, he decided to take the boys out on to the streets to have their chat. When he found a hidden alleyway, he grabbed the two and brought them in. His arms instantly crossed. "Answers… now if you please… You…." He said pointing to Rimuru. "Who are you?"

His face flushed, yet he couldn't bring himself to speak. Drax however did for him. "Rimuru Brawler, son of Amai Mask and a clone of Melee. Amai got caught by the house of evolution, pretty much did the same thing to him the same thing they did to my dad. Rimuru is one of six…"

"The sweet six…" Bang said.

"Please, don't call me that… I beg of you."

Bang nodded as he turned back to Drax. "When Amai regained himself, and learned about what happened, he was going to kill them. Melee and Garou stopped him… after Luna kicked Amai's ass to say the least. Since then, Garou has called them his own, they recognized him as their father." Drax paused. "Since then, they are just trying to find their own place in this world… I got to admit though, I have no idea what Rimuru was thinking!"

He sighed. "I want to learn fists of flowing water!" he protested. "Don't tell my dad, but I've been learning martial arts for him… so he would be proud of me… I want to be like him, but I don't quite have the genius combatant skill he does. It can take me a full week to learn something,"

"A week?!" demanded Bang. "That's nothing short of amazing! It can take students of mine YEARS of dedication! But a week… hmm, I may have to see for myself what you are capable of. If anything, what Accel said maybe true. Drax, you could be looking at your new partner!"

Drax was stunned, however smirked. "Really? I train your brother to play guitar now I get to train with you on martial arts? Nice!"

"I am going to learn from Raiden too… not that I have an interest in Sumo wrestling, but it's for Tempest's sake. He's been training hard for that, and I want to see if I can help him prepare to challenge Raiden when he's ready…"

"Tempest?" asked Bang.

"My older brother, he's training to be a sumo wrestler."

Bang was confused, greatly confused. "Huh… Who would have thought someone in your family would be interest in that." he said and gave a small chuckle.

"Wait until you see him." Said Drax.

"Okay, I think I know what's going on more or less. Let's head back and work out a training program for young Rimuru here. Huh, such a peculiar name…"

"I picked it!" he said proudly. "From my favorite anime! That's where Tempest got his name too!"

"Should have known Garou would allow that…"

"But please, no one say anything to dad about this or mom. I want to surprise them both!" he pleaded.

"I'll keep that a secret, however, you got to tell them about your new job." Warned Drax.

"Job?" he asked.

"You just joined the Neo Heroes… it's a job… you'll be slaying monsters with us." Drax explained.

"Oh…" muttered Rimuru who just realized what he got himself into!