Prologue part 2
2: What is it to be a hero?
His master became a hero and jaune followed in his footsteps.
Not that there really had been any other path for jaune.
He had dreamed of being a huntsman, a protector of humanity, a hero.
He failed in his previous life but now he had the opportunity to do so in this life.
It was simply impossible for him not to participate.
Thus his heroic life began, unlike his master who entered directly into the so-called S class jaune he had to start from the B class.
Of course, being Bang's disciple, he got a place in the top ten of the B class, but that didn't really matter.
Jaune didn't care about the classes, he just cared about doing his job well.
And that's what he did.
In addition to training, he went out on patrol every day.
His efficiency and strength made his rise through the classes a quick one.
Getting to Class A was easy but he wasn't really looking to climb the ladder.
On the other hand he met many amazing heroes and his teacher introduced him to other S-Class.
His life became interesting, he started to be what he never was.
He was a hero, he was admired, he was strong, he had friends, companions!
It was as if he had never been jaune arc.
That realization sent a shock through his system that made him shudder.
It was all the worse when he realized that he could not remember the faces of his sisters.
He couldn't remember the faces of his parents.
Jaune was now 17 years old, the age at which he died in his first life, 17 years was a long time.
So much so that forgetting when you had nothing to remind you of those times was so easy.
So much that focusing on the present and the future was more important than thinking about the past.
So much so that I didn't know if I was still jaune or charanko.
But even if he wasn't who he once was he still had a lot of that person in him.
He started doing more of the things he remembered doing in the past, reading more comics, playing more video games.
Trying to remember his father's advice and his mother's words, even if he had no face or voice to put on when he remembered those words.
But he had to live his life now, didn't he? Thinking about the past was the right thing to do? Was forgetting the past better?
He realized he had no time to answer such questions.
Now that he was a hero he had many responsibilities besides fighting monsters.
After all even with monsters mankind is still too good to destroy itself.
Fighting against dark organizations was starting to lose its magic after the sixth time.
It was definitely more annoying than the comics say.
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Wolf
Tiger
Demon
Dragon.
God.
The name assigned to them thanks to the association of heroes to threat levels depending on how much damage and disaster they can bring to the world.
Lobo refers to mundane threats, simple criminals with nothing special other than being against the law, even the weakest hero could deal with them, usually it is the local police who take care of them leaving the heroes free to deal with more serious matters.
Tigre is more complicated if wolf is the bottom end then tiger is the middle end, threats that can bring ruin to dozens of lives or destroy parts of a city.
Normally most heroes are the ones who deal with these threats either alone or in groups.
Usually a single class A hero is enough but it is almost always class B and C heroes who take care of them.
Then there is the really difficult part.
Demon, an entity or organization that could destroy an entire city in an instant.
Even ten Class A heroes may not be enough to deal with such threats.
And only the top 10 of the A class could hope to face demon level threats on their own.
Jaune had achieved this with a lot of effort, facing a demon level threat monster on his own had been the hardest battle of his life but he had prevailed.
With many broken bones and an inch away from death but he had done it and thus entered the ranks of the top 10 of the A class when he was 17 years old.
He believed that he was now strong, that he could now protect people without fear and face the dangers of the world with confidence.
Then he looked a dragon level threat in the face.
Dragon, an entity capable of threatening multiple cities at once.
Only the top S-Class heroes can face such threats.
Maybe it was too presumptuous of him then when he decided to take one on.
He almost died again.
It was not a fight at all.
If his master had not arrived in time he would have died.
In the end he had to be saved again by someone else.
In the end he couldn't save anyone and two cities of over 15 million people each ended up destroyed.
In the end he failed.
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"More strength, you say? Don't you think you're strong enough now?" to the question of his jaune master he couldn't help but clench his fists.
"I... I lost, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't save anyone, I couldn't fight".
"hmm I see" bang looked into the eyes of his favorite disciple.
To say he was the favorite might be too much favoritism but Bang wasn't one to lie to himself.
Charanko had grown on him since he first saw him all those years ago, he was the youngest disciple he had ever accepted and the one he had been closest to.
He was not the most talented but that mattered little when he demonstrated his ability to work hard.
He worked harder than anyone else to be able to help others, to be a hero.
Remembering his own past he couldn't help a bitter smile, so much difference between them but that made him appreciate charanko more.
Someone like his disciple deserved the strength more than others who would only use it incorrectly.
Making a decision he looked at his disciple before speaking.
"Follow me."
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Gousei Kohou: Awakening Breath
"Breathe, take your body beyond all possible limits and release all the strength hidden inside you and more beech temporarily, this comes at a great cost in exchange for using a power beyond your body, do not use this technique unless strictly necessary, using it too many times can bring problems to your health in the future"
Bakushin Kaihō-ken: Exploding Heart Release Fist
" this martial art, I don't like it at all, for me it represents all how wrong I was in the past, all my mistakes... but even if I don't like its strength is undeniable, if power is what you are looking for then only this martial has the ability to release an incomparable destructive power" Bang sighed, he looked at the scroll where one of his biggest failures was embodied.
A martial art that he used incorrectly.
One that led him down the wrong path.
But now this technique could be used for something better, in the hands of someone more suitable.
"Your training in these two techniques begins now."
Jaune nodded solemnly, his eyes glowing with a flame of incomparable will.
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It was hard, much harder than anything he had ever done before, the training he had undergone in the last year surpassed anything else in terms of effort and difficulty.
His bones broke, his muscles tore and every nerve in his body seemed to scream in pain.
But he didn't stop, he didn't stop even once, if he wanted strength, if he wanted power, if he wanted to be able to be a hero again then he needed this.
He needed to overcome any limits.
And so he did.
Staring at the corpse of the dragon level threat monster in front of him he couldn't help but go blank.
He had done it, he had overcome that barrier that even the lower ranked S-class heroes could not.
He had killed a dragon level monster.
But even so, even having won...
He couldn't save anyone again.
The city was burning, the buildings had collapsed and there was nothing left but misery.
He should have known, how stupid of him to assume that having the strength to face a dragon level monster was enough to change anything.
So what if the monster was dead? What did it matter when it took an entire city with it?
What was missing? What was needed to achieve his goal?
Jaune couldn't find that answer even when he became an S-class hero.
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" the Senpū Tetsuzan-ken is not an easy art to learn young charanko, are you sure that is what you are looking for?" Bomb looked at the young student of his younger brother his eyes studying every part of him carefully.
" I have studied all the martial arts my master has learned, I have mastered many others plus I have combined some, but no matter what I do I still can't find the strength I am looking for, I keep failing to save others, Senpū Tetsuzan-ken is the most lethal martial art there is, if even with it I can't achieve my dream then I don't know what else to do"
Bomb thought seriously, his brother's student was clearly lost in his quest, he seemed to have fallen into a dark path, he supposed that as his master's brother it was his duty to help the young man out of that darkness.
"very well, I will teach you but what you are looking for is something you are not going to find by simply gaining power."
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Bomb was right, Jaune did not find what he was looking for by learning the most lethal martial art in existence.
But Bomb managed to teach him a truth he had ignored.
You can't save everyone.
No matter how strong you are, how polished your technique is or how much effort you put into it.
Someone will always get hurt.
You can't save everyone.
It was with this cold realization that he began his return to his master's dojo.
He didn't like it, it wasn't what he wanted, it wasn't the truth he expected.
But it was the truth.
All his triumphs, all his successes and his meteoric rise in the heroes' association had put a pall over his eyes that had mowed him down.
But now he could see again, and although he didn't like it, he managed to accept it.
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Who was he kidding, of course he didn't accept it!
He refused to do it! What was the point of being a hero if he didn't seek to help as many people as he could?
What if he can't save everyone? Then he will save as many as he can!
It was as simple as that.
He just had to keep trying. He just had to keep trying.
So he put his faith in his fellow members of the association, he couldn't save everyone but if they worked together then maybe they could save more people.
There is strength in numbers, right?
Maybe he should start taking some low ranking heroes under his command and help them become stronger, he had never been a leader or had a team but he figured he could and would try.
Of course that was when Garou decided to destroy Bang's dojo.
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