It had been a few hours since Stinger had requested Shunshi's aid for the make-shift Garou Capture Squad. The spear-wielding Hero was sitting on a blanket in the center of numerous tents, alongside many other Heroes. Death Gatling, Wild Horn, Shooter, and Gun-Gun were the others waiting with Stinger. The Heroes' campsite was in one of D-City's forests, with each one finding a way to pass the time.
Death Gatling was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had long black, unkempt hair, grey eyes, and a cross-shaped scar on his face's left side. He wore a white cloak and a black leather outfit as ammunition-belts were laid out on the ground around. He sat on a stump as he performed maintenance on the mini-gun designed to fit on his arm.
Wild Horn was a man in an all-concealing suit of red, white, and gold armor. His helmet was built with a glass visor and a pair of bison-like horns. Armored plates on his shoulders, torso, and waistline kept the rest of him safe, as a black jumpsuit, white gloves, and boots kept the rest of his body concealed. A customized piledriver was attached to the Hero's right arm and appeared to be his weapon of choice. Wild Horn seemed to be in charge of the camp's security as he patrolled the campsite's perimeter.
The Hero called Shooter was a younger fellow dressed in blue and black baggy clothes. He had blue eyes and the front of his blond hair was designed to resemble an archery bow, while the rest was kept tied in a bun with an arrow-shaped hairpin. He sat by Stinger, making sure his bow and arrows were in good shape, as Stinger examined his spear's bamboo shoot quality.
Gun-Gun was a gentleman with a five-o-clock shadow. He wore an outfit resembling that of a cowboy's, as well as a stylized domino eye-mask. On his hips were a pair of revolver pistols, and a bandoleer of ammunition was wrapped around his waist. He was more relaxed than the others, lying on his back and watching the clouds in the sky go by.
After a few minutes of the monotony, Wild Horn noticed a figure dressed in black and dark silver armor with a backpack, approaching the camp.
Wild Horn braced and pointed the weapon on his arm at this individual and yelled, "Hold it! You're gonna need to identify yourself."
Stopping in his tracks, Shunshi removed his helmet and introduced himself, "Um, hello. I'm A-Class Rank 3, Monster Mask. Stinger told me this is where Death Gatling was gathering Heroes to put a stop to the Hero Hunter." Everyone at the camp stood up when they heard the commotion of a new arrival. Once he sat up, Stinger could see that Shunshi had arrived, causing his face to light up with excitement.
Using his weapon to vault through the air gracefully, Stinger landed near his companion and exclaimed, "Hey, Monster Mask. Way to do Heroes proud and takedown Super Fight. Also, glad you could make it. Everyone, come here, you're gonna love this guy."
As if to emphasize his words, the spear wielder wrapped an arm around Shunshi's shoulder and lightly shook him. The two were mostly the same height, so this wasn't awkward physically, but the younger Hero was surprised by his friend's praise. Shunshi had long since realized that his abilities surpassed most others in A-Class, Stinger included, but he hadn't thought that it was anything genuinely praiseworthy. That is, until perhaps a few hours ago.
Approaching Monster Mask alongside Wild Horn and Gun-Gun, Shooter was the first to introduce himself, "Greetings. So, you're the new, new guy? I guess Stinger couldn't keep that title for much longer. I suppose I should let you know that I'm B-Class Rank 99, Shooter." As Shooter introduced himself, the newer Hero's face was overcome with a shy excitement.
"Sh-Shooter, uh, it's... it's amazing to finally meet you in person, sir," Shunshi stammered out. The collection of Heroes around Shunshi were suddenly swept with inquisitive expressions. At the same time, Stinger smirked, having expected something along these lines from Monster Mask. Although, he hadn't expected such admiration for Shooter in particular.
"Uh... I've got to admit, that's flattering... Is there any reason you wanted to meet me?" Shooter questioned.
With the expression of a true fanboy, Shunshi smiled and explained, "Well, a couple years ago, back when I was still training, I was in a crowd of people that got attacked by a big zebra monster. The thing was about to crush a woman under its hoof, and I wanted to help, but I wasn't fast enough. But just before it could bring its foot down, a ton of arrows hit the thing in its side. I looked to see where they came from, and you were standing there on a roof! The zebra started going for you, but your poisoned arrows took it down before it could take more than two steps! I've wanted to thank you for saving us all ever since then."
Blinking in surprise, Shooter thought for a moment before responding, "Wow, um, yeah, I remember that. It was one of my better performances, I'd say... Well, eh, no problem. It's, uh... it's a Hero's job, Monster Mask."
"Yes! Exactly! I've had to deal with so many fake Heroes since I joined the Hero Association! I'm so glad whenever I get to meet real Heroes like you!" As Shunshi declared this, he shifted forward with enough force to unintentionally knock Stinger off of him.
As he shrunk back at Monster Mask's enthusiasm, Shooter smiled awkwardly and thought, Wow. I know Stinger said Monster Mask is a fanboy, but this is intense.
Stepping forward, Wild Horn was the next to introduce himself, "Well, I'll go next. My name is Wild Horn, and I'm ranked 6 in B-Class. Perhaps you've witnessed me in action as well?"
Keeping his smile as turned to Wild Horn, Shunshi explained, "Not in person, sir, but I've seen you on the news plenty of times. You always do such an amazing job leading teams of C and B-Class Heroes, and it's always cool to see your Pile Bison pop monsters like bubble-rap. It's a pleasure, sir."
Patting the weapon on his arm, Wild Horn responded, "Why, thank you! And I must say, it's nice to find another Hero who sees the value of a good suit of armor. I constructed mine myself. How about you?"
Holding his helmet up, Shunshi replied, "Well, I designed and built it myself for the longest time, but a friend of a friend had better materials and made this upgraded version of it for me. Now he rebuilds it whenever it gets damaged in fights with Demons or Dragons."
"Wh- WHAT?! Demons?! Dragons?! Why have you...? Oh, wait, that's right. You're one of the Demon Cyborg's sidekicks, correct? You two have been seen working together a number of times," Wild Horn rationalized.
When Stinger heard this, though, he rolled his eyes, knowing what was to come next.
"Well, actually, he's my Senpai. He and I are both training under Saitama-Sensei... Uh, you might know him as the B-Class Hero, Caped Baldy, but Master Saitama hates that name," Shunshi explained.
This response had been tamer than Stinger had expected, so he let out a surprised yet grateful sigh.
"Caped Baldy? You must be joking. I worked with him on a case once, and he was completely useless," Wild Horn insisted. Shunshi paused at that, the smile on his face morphing into a subtle glare.
Wild Horn's words caused Stinger's eyes to widen, remembering how his friend reacted back when he had badmouthed the Caped Baldy.
"Alright, listen. I respect and admire you all for everything you've done, but you should know that Master Saitama is the greatest and most powerful Hero in the world. If anyone says anything else bad about him, I'm gonna... take issue," Shunshi warned.
He would have been more physical in Saitama's defense, but the young man was too exhausted to do much else.
In response, Wild Horn clenched his fists and began to glare back at Monster Mask. As such, Shunshi stared his fellow Hero down for a few seconds, his sunken-in eyes starting to give off a faint glow. Before things could escalate, however, Stinger shook his head at Wild Horn from behind Monster Mask.
Wild Horn's eyes darted between Stinger and Monster Mask before he turned around and snapped, "Fine. I won't say anything else about the Baldy. Stay ignorant if you want, new guy." As he fumed, the B-Class Hero marched back into the camp.
As he did his best to saunter through the tense atmosphere, Gun-Gun spoke to Shunshi next, "Wow, that was tense, partner. Are you normally that touchy? Oh, names' Gun-Gun. My number's 43 in B-Class."
Confronted in such a way, Shunshi looked at the ground and fumbled his words, "Oh, um... Right, sorry. I don't, uh, do that. Well, I mean, I do, but only when, uh... Actually, there's a lot that makes me angry, but it's usually only when I meet monsters or evil guys... But, uh, can I just say, it's nice to meet you, Gun-Gun, sir? I've seen you on the news too. I saw you stop an armed robbery on your own. There were ten guys, they all had heavy firepower, but you shot up and destroyed all their weapons right out of their hands! Your marksmanship is amazing! I don't think I could ever be that good with a gun."
Rubbing the back of his head, Gun-Gun replied, "Well, it's nice to see your rank hasn't given you a swelled head... Actually, your head is looking a little on the scrawny side. You alright?"
Resting his bow on the ground, Shooter commented, "I didn't want to be rude, but are you always this... malnourished?"
Stepping up to look at Shunshi a little closer, Stinger pointed out, "Yeah, I see what they're saying. You okay, Shunshi? You're looking a little, hmm, well, Gun-Gun had it right, scrawny's the right word."
"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'll be fine. I just, um, burned myself out when things got hairy at Super Fight. I should be fine by tomorrow," Shunshi calmly answered.
As everyone questioned Monster Mask further, Death Gatling put a hand on his gun and gave the latest arrival a stern stare, unsure of what to make of him.
Noticing that Death Gatling was hesitant to approach, Stinger called out to him, "Hey, boss man, you should come say hi too. He doesn't bite."
Smirking, Gun-Gun whispered to Shooter, "Not unless you're a big fish guy." The archery Hero awarded the pistol wielder's comment with a hushed chuckle.
Making his way around Wild Horn and towards Shunshi, Death Gatling began talking, "Hello. I'm Death Gatling, and I'm-."
"You're number 8 in A-Class! Even after I got a higher rank than you, you still made sure to work your hardest and kept your spot! I'm a huge fan of yours too, sir! I got to see you fight in person once! A group of, like, twenty monsters was at a shopping center in S-City that my sister and I were at, but before they could actually do anything, you showed up and mowed them all down! It was awesome! I've been a fan of yours' for over a year now, sir!" Shunshi had interrupted Death Gatling to say all this, but he found himself incapable of containing his child-like excitement at getting to meet the man.
Back when Stinger had first recommended Monster Mask to Death Gatling, A-Class' number eight doubted the spear wielder's claims of the new Hero's adoration for his coworkers. Death Gatling had expected a brash and arrogant kid, especially after his fast climb through the ranks. However, now that he'd witnessed Monster Mask's true character for himself, he was stunned silent. Death Gatling did his best to keep a composed face, but he couldn't prevent his jaw from going slack.
Taking advantage of the silence, Stinger chose to speak up, "Well, this seems like a good time to brag about getting bumped up to number 9 in A-Class. That soldier guy we took down pushed me past the number 10 spot, Monster Mask."
"Really?! Congrats, man. You earned it," Shunshi applauded.
Closing his maw, Death Gatling cleared his throat and started talking, "Well... I suppose I should say you're welcome. Now, Stinger told me you work well with teams, so listen up, Monster Mask. This isn't our entire team. B-Class number 21, Glasses, is currently on watch duty where we've spotted the Hero Hunter hiding out. We're going to exchange shifts, keeping a watch on that spot. We're also waiting for Smile Man and Chain'N'Toad to arrive. Due to the monster invasions' chaos, I'm giving them until tomorrow to get here. Once they arrive, we'll organize our attack formation."
"So we're waiting till tomorrow? Good, I need some rest after what happened at Super Fight," Shunshi responded with relief.
"If that's the case, then go to sleep. I'd rather you be at full strength for our attack, so I guess you're handling our watch's night shift. Also, you've had more experience fighting the Hero Hunter than anyone else in the Hero Association. Once everyone's here, I expect useful tactical information from you," Death Gatling ordered.
"Uh. Oh, yes, sir," Monster Mask answered. With that, Death Gatling nodded and turned to walk back to the campsite.
As the heavy ordinance Hero walked back to his stump, Shunshi postulated, Hmm, if he's looking for people with experience on Garou, then maybe I should call Silver Fang-Sensei for him... No, someone like Death Gatling probably already thought of that. The Hero Association has to focus on the Monster Association right now, and we can't waste any more of the S-Class' time chasing Garou.
While Shunshi processed what actions to take, Stinger poked him in the back with the butt of his spear.
"Hey, man. Do you figure you can tell us what happened at Super Fight before you go catch Zs?" The spikey-haired Hero questioned. Behind him stood Gun Gun and Shooter, both of whom wore genuinely curious expressions.
Turning around and taking off his backpack, Shunshi reached in and pulled out an orange juice box and a granola bar.
"Let me get some stuff in my stomach first. Then, if you really wanna know, I guess I can fill you in. Fair warning, the tournament got... Ugly. I'm gonna summarize a bit, though. I really do need to get to sleep," Shunshi groaned.
Roughly a half-hour later, as soon as Monster Mask finished explaining what happened at Super Fight, he sat down against a tree and passed out immediately. For the sake of his Master's anonymity, Shunshi chose to omit Saitama's involvement in defeating Gouketsu. Instead, he claimed that Gouketsu got bored and decided to leave, only for Shunshi to discover that the monster had been killed by an unknown Hero later.
The Heroes who had listened to his story had a smorgasbord of expressions on their faces. They all had questions about Monster Mask's tale but were unable to wake the storyteller for further information.
"Stinger, do you think he was telling the truth? About monster cells, and that he fought Dragon-Level monsters?" Shooter questioned.
"Honestly, I don't know. With the whole monster invasion thing, monster cells don't sound too crazy. But fighting Dragons...? I mean, I thought I beat God-Level monsters once, but... well, I was wrong. They weren't that strong," Stinger answered as he scratched his head.
Hooking his thumbs on his belt, Gun-Gun postulated, "That's probably it. I know this kid's sposed' to be strong, but those monsters were probably just high on their power trips."
"But what about that transformation thing he talked about? What'd he call it? Springing Rage or something?" Shooter asked the group.
"Is that what he said? I thought he said he and Suiryu called it Split It Rage," Stinger pondered.
"He was yawning a lot. I couldn't make out what name he gave it," Gun-Gun added.
Shaking his head, Shooter went on, "Whatever. Do you guys think he was telling the truth about being able to transform like that?"
Shrugging, Stinger quickly answered, "I don't know if it's as strong as he said it was, but he probably wasn't lying about it being a thing he can do. I've seen him do other crazy stuff, so this could be a thing too. And I don't think he's the kind of guy to brag about stuff he didn't do."
"Either way, we should tell the others about this stuff. Could be useful info to know," Gun-Gun remarked.
As their conversation wrapped up, Wild Horn approached and told them, "Hey, if you're done talking, it's time to relieve Glasses of watch duty. Shooter, I believe you're up."
"What? Oh, right. Stinger, Gun-Gun, you two are going to fill everyone in on what Monster Mask told us, right?"
"Well, duh," Gun-Gun replied.
With that concern answer, Shooter grabbed his bow and quiver and headed out.
"Do I really need to listen to this?" Wild Horn complained as Shooter left.
Another half-hour passed before Glasses returned. He was a rather bland-looking man, with black hair that had been cut in an average way. He was dressed in a green tracksuit and had a pair of his namesake glasses on his face.
When the B-Class Hero came jogging back into camp, he found Stinger and Gun-Gun doing their best to field questions from Death Gatling and Wild Horn.
Shooter had informed glasses that the other Heroes at camp would have a story to tell about their latest arrival and concluded that he must've just missed the tale. Making his presence known, Glasses explained the situation and asked if they wouldn't mind re-telling the story.
With all the currently present Heroes up to date on the situation regarding Monster Mask, Stinger and Glasses discussed how his aid would make this an easy win.
At the same time, Death Gatling thought to himself, Dammit. I'd heard rumors that he was being considered for promotion to S-Class, but if even a fraction of what they're saying is true, then we'd all just be backup for him. If it plays out like that, then the S-Class will still be the only ones the Hero Association gives any value to.
Interrupting Glasses' and Stinger's conversation, Death Gatlin asked the spear-wielder, "Hey, Stinger. It sounds like Monster Mask might be the type to get in over his head and act rashly. Are you sure he won't ruin our attack formation by acting on his own?"
Deciding to voice his own grievances, Wild Horn spoke up, "And did you hear how he tried to defend the Caped Baldy's actions? Maybe the reason Monster Mask has made so much progress so quickly is that he's taking other Heroes' credit like the Caped Baldy. He has been seen hanging around the Demon Cyborg, after all. He's probably taken a lot of the credit for that kid's work."
"What? Hey, come on! Monster Mask's worked with me and Lightning Genji to take out a few Demon-Level monsters. Do you think we're cheating too?" Stinger snapped.
Flinching at Stinger's rebuke, Wild Horn looked at the ground and muttered some sort of half-hearted apology.
Cocking an eyebrow, Gun-Gun reminded the group, "Did you guys forget how he was fawning over us when he got here? Seems like he practically idolizes you, Death Gatling. I'm sure he'd follow your instructions to the letter."
Pausing as he attempted to think of a way around this, Death Gatling found himself drawn a blank. Unfortunately for the mini-gun Hero, he couldn't rationalize a reason the others would accept to not bring Monster Mask to the battle.
Sighing, Death Gatling conceded, "Fine. I suppose you guys are right. He shouldn't be a problem. Once Smile Man and Chain'N'Toad arrive, Stinger and I will inform them of what happened at Super Fight. Keep them in the loop and all that. Once Monster Mask wakes up, someone send him to keep watch."
As he adjusted his specs, Glasses thought about what had interested him the most from the story, So, Monster Mask is gonna train with that Suiryu guy... Maybe I can get a pointer or two from him. Heck, maybe he can show me how to use that Kie stuff too. Seems like it'd be really useful for all the scars I've been getting.
With the conversation wrapped up, the Heroes got up and went about their business.
Once the sun began to set, Gun-Gun went to switch off watch duty with Shooter. By the time Shooter returned to camp, Smile Man and Chain'N'Toad had arrived as well. After greeting them, Shooter decided to check on how Monster Mask was doing, curious as to how his recovery was going.
Shooter found Shunshi still next to the tree he'd slumped to sleep on. However, the young man had gone from sleeping in a sitting position to being curled up on the ground. This got an amused chuckle out of the archer, but as he looked closer at the higher-ranked Hero, he noticed that Monster Mask's face was more filled out than when he'd left. This sight caused Shooter to step back in shock, which Stinger took notice of.
"Hey, Shooter. What's up with Captain Snooze?" the spear-wielder questioned, seemingly proud of the clever nickname he'd thought up.
Gesturing to Monster Mask, Shooter explained, "His face. It's... it's filling out." Hearing that, Stinger leaned over to get a better look, rubbing his chin as he did.
"Well, hey, it really is looking healthier. Guess he wasn't kidding when he said he heals fast," Stinger exclaimed as he stood up straight.
"Wait, he does?" Shooter questioned.
"Weren't you listening to his story?" Stinger asked back.
Shrugging defensively, Shooter replied, "All he said was that he got beat to Hell at Super Fight."
Stinger spoke more softly once the realization hit him, as he corrected himself, "Oh, right. I guess he didn't mention it when he was talking to everybody... So, yeah. He told me once that he heals fast enough that he hasn't had to go to the hospital since he joined the Hero Association."
Thinking of Monster Mask's newsworthy fights, Shooter asked in disbelief, "Even after the Sea Folk invasion?! You guys got wrecked during that!"
"Yeah... Even then," Stinger answered as he scratched at the phantom pain in his abs.
Realizing the awkward air his words had brought in, Shooter decided it'd be best to end the conversation by explaining that he needed to go perform maintenance on his equipment.
As the hours ticked by, the time for Monster Mask's watch duty had arrived. Death Gatling approached the still sleeping Hero and lightly kicked him as he barked for Shunshi to get up. However, to Gatling's surprise and bewilderment, Monster Mask didn't budge. He spent another couple minutes trying to shout the power napper awake, to no avail.
After that, Glasses and Stinger came to try and wake him as well but had no more success than the higher-ranked gunner.
When it became evident that Shunshi wasn't going to wake up, Death Gatling relented and asked Stinger if he would take Monster Mask's watch. After a few minutes of debate, the spear-wielder caved in and went to cover for his snoozing companion.
Once Stinger left, Death Gatling pondered, Hmm, this might work out. If he doesn't wake up in time, then we won't be able to bring him along for the capture mission. One can hope, at least.
With that incident being handled, time passed on as it regularly would.
As Shunshi continued to sleep, Chain'N'Toad and Wild Horn both went on watch shifts. By the time Wild Horn's shift had ended, and Smile Man was up to bat, the sun began to rise.
Throughout this stretch of events, Monster Mask's face filled out more and more as the rest of the camp slept in shifts as needed.
Eventually, the sun had risen again and Death Gatling had begun strategy talks with the other Heroes. It was then that Shunshi's face became the picture of health as he arose from his slumber.
Seeing that Monster Mask had finally sat up, Death Gatling grimaced for a brief moment as others looked relieved, and others still were clearly annoyed that he'd taken so long.
"Well, the layabout finally got up. I thought we were going to have to leave you here," Gun-Gun lightly chastised.
Scratching his head, Shunshi questioned groggily, "Wha?"
As Monster Mask tried to force himself awake, Wild Horn told him, "You overslept and missed your turn for watch duty, Monster Mask. Smile Man is out there now, and we're heading out in just a little bit to meet up with him. Now get over here. We're going over our strategy."
Shunshi's blue eyes shot open when he heard this, blasting to his feet and exclaiming, "Oh, shoot! Seriously?! Right, okay. Sorry!" Grabbing his backpack and helmet, the young Hero quickly made his way over to stand with the Garou Capture Squad's other members.
Once Monster Mask was standing at attention, Death Gatling let out a frustrated sigh before explaining, "Okay, we've already been over the majority of the strategizing, so I'll summarize things for you, Monster Mask. Our current plan is to have Stinger and Wild Horn handle the front line, while Smile Man and Chain'N'Toad will use their weapons to handle the mid-range combat, and then Gun Gun and Shooter will cover things from the back. At the same time, Glasses will act as support, gathering any equipment that may get dropped, as well as covering any escape routes Garou might try to use. Lastly, I'm staying in the back to keep everyone covered with my mini-gun and to conserve ammo in case I need to use Death Shower... Now, do you have any information on how well this would deal with Garou? Also, how do you think we should add you to the formation?"
Processing the information given to him, Shunshi folded his arms and placed his hand to his chin as he did his best to think up some answers.
Coming out of deep thought just as Death Gatling was about to lose his patience, Shunshi started explaining, "Alright, the strategy is perfectly sound. I just have some advice. When Stinger, Lightning Genji, and I took down Sargent Uchiara, I was able to use Fist Of Flowing Water Crushing Rock to deflect bullets. Garou's faster and stronger than me and is better with that martial art style than I am, so we should try to keep him preoccupied whenever you, Shooter, or Gun-Gun opens fire on him. Also, I've learned the hard way that the Hero Hunter is an expert at adapting to new situations. If he starts coming up with techniques to break up our formation, then we should be ready to improvise ourselves. In regards to my spot in the formation, I think I should be at the front with Wild Horn and Stinger. I've had the most experience fighting the Hero Hunter in close quarters after all."
Monster Mask's words caused the long-range combatants to take a second to take account of the situation. At the same time, one could see the gears turning in the heads of the other Heroes. Each of them were considering the warning to improvise, and what exactly they could do in such a scenario.
Recomposing himself, Death Gatling looked at Monster Mask and forced himself to admit, "I can't deny your logic. Fine, you'll fight at the front, but I expect you to provide that distraction we'll need to land shots on him."
Smiling confidently, Shunshi responded, "Yes, sir, you got it! If we all work together and stick to your plan, then I know we can win."
This enthusiastic response surprised Death Gatling. Once again, Monster Mask's attitude had taken him off guard. The wording of his exclamation was what really shook Death Gatling this time, though.
He had said if we all stick to your plan. The fact that the high-ranked rookie was so ready to listen to someone he'd overtaken in position hit the mini-gun slinger in a way he hadn't considered. Even if it was only subconsciously, Death Gatling could feel his attitude towards Monster Mask softening.
After letting out some internal stress through a sigh, Death Gatling spoke up once more, "Alright, everyone. Let's get going. If anyone needs to eat or drink anything, then do it now."
With those instructions made clear, all the Heroes quickly grabbed the water canteens they'd brought along and guzzled their contents down.
It was during this time that Shunshi approached Glasses and Chain'N'Toad, the latter of whom had removed his frog-themed headgear to drink his water.
"Hello. I assume you guys are Chain'N'Toad and Glasses. The name's Monster Mask, or Shunshi. I figured I should introduce myself properly to you both," Shunshi told them with a smile.
Glasses looked a bit surprised by this introduction, but quickly smiled back and responded, "Oh, thanks. Yeah, I'm Glasses. Nice to meet you, Monster Mask."
As he put his amphibious helmet back on, Chain'N'Toad offered up a greeting of his own, "It's a pleasure, rookie. I heard from Stinger that you won Super Fight. Good work."
Noticing the frog-themed Hero's karate gi, Shunshi asked, "Thanks, that means a lot... Hey, so, mind if I ask why you didn't enter Super Fight, Chain'N'Toad, sir?"
When asked this, Chain hesitated a moment, before eventually pulling his namesake kusarigama from his gi.
"Afraid I wouldn't have done too well if I'd entered. I have some training in hand-to-hand martial arts, but my main skills lay with my weapon, and I don't think they let people use weapons in Super Fight," the A-Class Hero explained.
"Oh. Well, that's a shame. Now I'm kinda interested to see what you can do in hand-to-hand... Then again, I guess it's for the best you didn't participate. If you had, you would've had to deal with Gouketsu," Shunshi lamented.
Tilting his frog-covered head, Chain'N'Toad asked, "Gouketsu? Who's-?"
Cutting their conversation short, Death Gatling yelled to everyone, "Alright, we're moving out! Let's go, team!"
"Guess that'll have to wait until later. Let's go, Glasses, Monster Mask. We have a Hero Hunter to hunt," Chain'N'Toad stated as he began to march off. His remark managed to earn a grin from Glasses and a chuckle from Shunshi as the latter put his own helmet back on.
As the team of A and B-Class Heroes marched out to the shed used as the Hero Hunter's hideout, Garou himself was resting there as he recovered from the previous day's battles. Once everyone had begun to walk, a critical fact shot back into Shunshi's mind.
"Everybody hold on! I forgot something important about Garou," Monster Mask yelled.
The yelling of the highest-ranked Hero present convinced the team to stop, with Death Gatling yelling back, "What?! What are you talking about? What's important?"
Clearing his throat, Shunshi adjusted his posture and did his best to explain quickly, "Sorry, everyone, I just think this is important. So, here's the deal. When Garou sent me to the hospital last time, I asked the staff how many Heroes Garou's killed, but... Well, apparently, he hasn't actually killed anyone."
"I'm sorry, what? How is that possible?" Wild Horn questioned.
Pointing to Wild Horn, Shunshi went on, "Yeah, I was thinking the same when I learned about this, but the worst he's done is maim Heroes. Blue Fire had it the worst when Garou took his upper arm, but Blue Fire apparently seared his wound shut before he could bleed out. I think Garou's only willing to beat someone as far as they can take it just before death. Now, Garou's taken out over ninety of us so far, and to fight that many people the way he does without killing anyone isn't just coincidence. The Hero Hunter talks a big game, but he's intentionally not taken a single life so far."
As he gave Monster Mask a stern look, Death Gatling questioned, "What exactly are you getting at?"
"Well, I know the Hero Association decided to officially label Garou as a monster, but, well, he's only eighteen. I'm only twenty myself, so it's not like I see him as a kid or anything, and lord knows I have a grudge to settle with the guy, and I still think he needs to go to prison for everything he's done, but... Well, I think we have the manpower needed to bring him in without killing him, so we should at least try that. On top of that, with all this Monster Association stuff going on, there's a small chance we might be able to convince him to come quietly for the sake of Humanity."
At that last suggestion, the other Heroes began to mutter and exchange glances. Some were surprised, others were utterly shocked, while the ones like Stinger and Glasses seemed rather calm about the idea.
Getting everyone to focus by stepping up to Monster Mask, Death Gatling told the younger Hero, "Okay, let me make this clear. We are approaching this with the intent of taking the Hero Hunter down, preferably alive, but if he proves to be too dangerous, dead becomes an option... I'll give you one chance to talk him down before we take him apart."
Shunshi paused for a few moments at Death Gatling's terms. The gun wielder's stern glare next to the vicious yet emotionless helmet from which Shunshi gained his title put the other Heroes on edge. The fear of a brawl between the two strongest Heroes present wasn't something any of them wished to see.
However, the Heroes all found themselves breathing sighs of relief when Monster Mask calmly and without the slightest hint of malice, replied, "Yeah, that sounds fair. I know firsthand just how dangerous Garou is after all. Sometimes you gotta fight like it's life or death if you wanna win the tough battles."
Nodding, Death Gatling turned to the others and announced, "Well, with that settled, we're going. No further interruptions!" Once he made his orders clear, Death Gatling had his company of Heroes resume their march.
The Human Monster rested on a couch on his shed's second floor, with a wet cloth on his forehead. His body was covered in bandages. However, there was shockingly little blood on any of them.
While relaxing, Garou pulled the cloth off his face and thought, Hmm... After what that furry and King did to me, I thought I'd be in worse shape right now. But... The pain in my jaw and ribs are almost gone, and all my cuts and bruises have healed up already... What's going on with my body?
As Garou pondered this, he heard the sliding metal door of the shed being pushed open.
Springing to his feet and jumping down to the first floor, Garou yelled, "Who's here!? Who're you?!"
When he didn't see anyone, the Hero Hunter was understandably puzzled. Although, when he began to hear whimpering coming from the floor, Garou looked down and saw the ugly child he'd met in the park, now crying at his feet.
"Thi-this is ou-ou-our s-secret base," the boy sobbed.
Once Garou processed who was at his feet, he cut the boy off, "Hey, I know you. You're the brat who was reading the Hero guidebook at the park."
Recognizing Garou as well, the boy said back, "Hey, you're that old guy who likes monsters."
"I told you to stop calling me that. What are you doing here, anyway?" Garou asked in annoyance.
"Uh, y-you gotta... get out of our base... please," the kid muttered.
Taking a more aggressive stance as he cocked an eyebrow, Garou snapped, "What? Where do you get off talking to me like that?!"
As soon as Garou got upset, the ugly boy shrunk back in fear.
Confused, Garou asked, "Hey, if you're so scared, why'd you come in here?"
As the boy began to shiver and sweat, he answered, "Well... um... E-everyone t-told me to."
Calming down somewhat, Garou attempted to clarify, "Who're you talking about? Your friends? Just tell them no."
"B-b-but," the boy whimpered as he began to cry hard enough to start leaking snot from his nose.
"Stop blubbering! It's annoying," Garou growled before calming down and continuing, "Listen. Don't worry about it... What's your name?"
"T-Tareo," the ugly boy answered.
"Listen, Tareo. I don't plan on staying here anyway. Tell your friends that I'm probably gonna head out in an hour or so. Now, if that ain't good enough, then get your friends and bring 'em here to complain. Got that, brat?" Garou explained.
Falling to his knees meekly, Tareo responded, "Y-yeah."
Frowning slightly as he looked at Tareo's meekness, Garou asked him, "Hey... How about I give you some advice on how to earn respect?"
Perking up at that, Tareo answered eagerly, "What? O-okay, sure!"
As Garou and Tareo talked, a group of three other boys, Tareo's friends, were watching the shed from the surrounding forest.
"Hey, Tareo's been in there a while. What's he doing? It's been five minutes," one kid pointed out.
"Yeah, what is he doing in there? Is he still talking to the guy in there or something? Maybe that guy killed him," the second kid suggested.
There was a pause for a moment as the other boys processed the morbidity of what had been suggested before the third boy eventually spoke up, "Wait, what? That's not funny. We told him to go in there. If he's really dead, it's our fault."
As the trio of prepubescents began to panic, a figure walked up from behind them and ordered, "Get back, kids. This place is dangerous."
Turning to see who was there, the boys were in awe as they saw Death Gatling and the squad of tough-looking Heroes alongside him.
"Death Gatling!? And that's Smile Man! Wow, Stinger's here too! Woah, there's a whole bunch of cool Heroes!" The boys collectively exclaimed.
Walking up to Stinger, one of the kids requested, "Hey, shake my hand."
Crouching down, Stinger smiled and responded, "Sure thing," as he shook the boy's hand.
"Why are so many Heroes here?!" One of the boys shouted.
Shushing at them while giving a wink, Stinger told them, "Gotta keep quiet, kids. We got some Hero business to take care of."
Approaching Death Gatling, Smile Man asked, "You sure the Hero Hunter is still here? I didn't see him during my watch."
"Positive. I followed him here yesterday and made sure that we always had someone keeping an eye on this place."
Deciding to bring up an important fact, Chain'N'Toad pointed out, "Uh, actually, I had to go use the bathroom during my watch. I was only gone for fifteen minutes, though."
Before the group's leader could get upset, Glasses spoke up, "Don't worry. The other B-Class Heroes and I were antsy while Monster Mask was sleeping, so we were out patrolling the forest at the same time. Garou never left the shed last night."
A few of the Heroes turned to look at Monster Mask with annoyance at that, with Death Gatling asking, "How about you contribute now? Do you think Garou could have gotten away, Monster Mask?"
Shunshi felt ever so fortunate that his helmet concealed his entire head, as his face was beet-red with embarrassment at his apparent uselessness to the group so far.
"Uh... Yeah, he's probably still there. Even if he had snuck out of the shed, he probably still would've tried to attack a few of us on his way out of the forest," Shunshi guessed, his intuition coming from what little he knew about Garou's personality from his prior altercations with the Hero Hunter.
"Got it. So, since none of us have been attacked, he's still probably in there," Death Gatling reasoned as he gave a death-glare to the shed.
Wanting to understand the situation, the kids approached Wild Horn and Monser Mask, asking them, "Hey, what's happening? What's in the shed?"
"A dangerous monster. You boys better leave before things get ugly," Wild Horn answered.
When he heard Wild Horn's explanation, Shunshi saw how much it frightened the kids, and countered, "Well, come on now, Wild Horn. The Hero Hunter's just been classified as a monster, but he's really just a really strong, crazy criminal. Uh... Either way, Wild Horn's not wrong. You guys should get outta here. We're about to go fight him and take him to jail."
"Oh... okay," the boys said as they began to sweat and runoff.
Tapping his foot in frustration, Wild Horn asked Monster Mask, "Did you really need to undermine what I said?"
Shrugging apologetically, Shunshi replied, "Well... Sorry. I just don't like seeing kids get scared if I can help it."
Once they were far enough away from the Heroes, one of the kids asked his friends, "Do you think it was just a crazy guy, or was it really a monster?"
"It doesn't matter. Tareo's definitely dead. We're gonna be in so much trouble," the second one gripped.
"Just don't say anything, and no one will find out we had anything to do with it!" The last boy yelled.
Back inside of the shed, Garou was sitting at a table as he finished instructing young Tareo.
"So, if you want people to stop bullying you and treat you with respect, you gotta get strong. Pretty good advice, right?"
Tilting his head, Tareo asked, "Get strong? That's just common sense."
At these words, the pride on Garou's face left, with contemplation taking its place for a moment. Suddenly, the Hero Hunter slammed his fist on the table, initially frightening Tareo, only for a smile on Garou's face to wipe that fear away.
"You're right, it is common sense! Haha! It's such good advice that it's something everyone just knows," Garou proclaimed in satisfaction while jumping to his feet.
As Garou stood up, Tareo decided to voice a concern he'd been having, "Uh, hey, old guy. I've been wanting to ask. Why do you have all those bandages on? Are you hurt? You don't really seem like it."
Scratching his chest as he turned away, Garou snapped, "Stop calling me that, brat. And it's none of you're business. Now get lost or go get your friends if they're still here."
Following instructions, Tareo nodded and began to make his way to the shed's door.
At the same time, all the Pro Heroes had surrounded the shed, with Smile Man calmly stating, "I think I hear someone moving in there... Wait! The door's opening!"
As everyone began to grow more cautious, Death Gatling questioned, What?! After how beat up he was, he's already up and moving?
Steeling his nerves, Death Gatling raised his hand to give the command to open fire while coldly stating, "Alright, everyone. We're gonna give Monster Mask the chance to talk Garou down, but don't any of you drop your guard for a second. Long-range fighters get ready to open fire the second he takes a step out of line. Monster Mask, if the Hero Hunter starts dodging as you said, then be ready to get in there with Stinger and Wild Horn to slow him down."
Igniting his Kie, Shunshi gave his arms a quick stretch while responding, "Got it."
At the same time, as the Heroes were about to move, Tareo was about to open the shed's sliding door.
Suddenly, the feeling of the surrounding blood lust hit Garou, causing him to yell at Tareo, "Kid, wait!"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Tareo asked as he took his hands away from the door.
Crouching down to meet the boy at eye level, Garou asked, "You got your Hero almanac? Let me see it."
"What? Why?" Tareo wined.
"It's to pay me back for the advice I gave you. Just hand it over," Garou demanded.
"Well, okay," Tareo whined as he pulled the almanac out from his pants' backside.
As Tareo handed over the almanac, Shunshi finished his stretch and confidently thought, Fist Of The Impenetrable Fire Spirit and the Burn Whips should be enough to fight on par with him. Especially with everyone else here as backup.
Looking to his two other melee teammates, Monster Mask told them, "Alright, Stinger, Wild Horn, let's move in."
At the same time, as Garou flipped through the book's pages, he asked, "So this is the newest volume, right? It should have info on all the Heroes and how they fight, right?"
"Well, some Heroes put that stuff in there for their fans, but others keep their stuff secret, like when you tried to look up Monster Mask," Tareo explained.
While approaching the door, Garou groaned, "Tch, don't remind me."
Just as the Hero Hunter was about to use his strength to poke a hole in the shed's entrance, he was stopped by a loud knock at the door. This knocking had not only surprised Tareo and Garou but left a fist-sized dent on the metal door.
"Hero Hunter, Garou, stay where you are! You're surrounded! This is Monster Mask! I'm coming in along with others to talk with you! I suggest you take this chance to end things peacefully," Shunshi's voice commanded.
At the sound of Monster Mask's voice, Garou's eyes went wide as his body began to shake with a horrid, instinctual rage. Before the Hero Hunter could act on his fury, Monster Mask, with two other Heroes by his side, flung the door open.
The two martial artists' eyes met the others, both of them in shock at their close proximity as well as for other reasons.
Garou was taken aback by Monster Mask, the Hero who refused to stay down and who'd nearly killed him, was suddenly in front of him once again, but now claiming to want to talk.
Shunshi's surprise was primarily focused on Garou's appearance. The Hero Hunter's white hair had turned blood-red along with one of his eyes, and a claw-shaped scar ran along the right side of his face. However, the direst thing in Monster Mask's view was the little boy standing behind the Human Monster.
Stinger and Wild Horn noticed the boy as well, and as tension rose by the nanosecond, Shunshi clenched his fists and questioned Garou, "That kid your hostage?"
Intensifying his glare, Garou paused to think before answering, "Maybe."
"You fiend! How dare you-!" Wild Horn began to yell but was stopped by Monster Mask raising the back of his gauntleted hand to the B-Class Hero's face.
"And what would you do if I asked you to let him leave so we could talk?" Shunshi inquired with a level of patience that baffled not only the two standing behind him but the criminal in front of him as well.
Garou's eyes slowly shifted over to Tareo and then back to Monster Mask. Then, without breaking eye contact with the dark-clad Hero again, Garou reached out to hand Tareo his almanac back.
"Shove off, shitty brat," the Hero Hunter ordered.
Taking his book into his hands, Tareo looked at it in confusion, before changing his gaze over to Garou, and then to the cool-looking Heroes. The boy found himself at a complete loss for words as his young mind attempted to conjure up an explanation for this strange scenario.
"Are you deff!? Scram, brat!" Garou yelled impatiently.
Looking at the Hero at the head of the pack, Tareo's face brightened as he recognized him and proclaimed, "Hey, it's Monster Mask...! Wha-what do you guys want wi-with Uncle?"
"Uncle?" Stinger questioned with genuine curiosity.
Looking back at Tareo with frustration plainly on his face, Garou snapped, "Hey! Now don't start calling me that! I'm still only eighteen, Tareo!"
Noticing the concerned look on this kid's face, the Hero almanac in his hands, and the affectionate way he referred to Garou, the gears in Shunshi's mind began to turn.
In an attempt to piece together this situation, Monster Mask kindly asked, "Uncle, huh? You must be a friend of Garou's then. Right, bud?"
A little of Tareo's worry went away at Monster Mask's friendly attitude, as he answered, "Ye-yeah... I guess. He's been reading my Hero book with me. He's been really interested in finding out stuff about you... What's going on here, anyway?"
Shunshi felt ever so fortunate that his helmet took over the role of his poker face at that moment, as his eyes went wide while his eyebrows raised. This information gave him the perfect idea of how to handle this child.
"Well, Tareo was it? Garou here has been going out and asking different Heroes if he can meet up with me to talk. So, we agreed on this spot for our... interview. If you don't mind, though, this stuff is private Hero business, and we need you to leave," Monster Mask explained ever so gracefully.
"An interview?" Tareo questioned.
Looking back at Monster Mask with frustration building in his mind, Garou paused before clarifying, "Oh yeah, brat. It's gonna be a real exhausting interview. Now leave!"
Stepping to the side, Shunshi gestured for Tareo to exit the shed, while loudly asking, "Okay, Tareo, the child who is in here with us, would you please kindly step out of the shed now?"
"Oh... okay?" The boy responded.
Once Tareo walked out of there, he was surprised to see all the other Heroes who had shown up for Garou's interview. The Heroes themselves were just as surprised to see that another child had been inside the shed they were all ready to blast apart.
Prioritizing the boy's safety, Glasses walked up to him, pointed out the directions his friends ran towards, and sent him on his way.
I can't believe that those hooligans didn't tell us that their friend was in here with the Hero Hunter. If I knew who they were, I'd talk to their parents after this, Wild Horn grumbled internally as he watched Tareo leave.
With Tareo in no further danger, Garou thought quickly, Okay, I can see three more guys standing outside. Let's see, I think that's Smile Man, Chain'N'Tad, and Death Gatling. If there's anyone else here, I can't see them. Grrr, alright. Gotta be ready to improvise techniques on the fly once I take care of the front line here.
Focusing a glare at Monster Mask, Garou lowered his arms to his side, flexed his fingers, and growled out, "So... You wanna talk, huh? We'll I'll-."
Before the Hero Hunter could finish, Shunshi cut him off by pointing to his new features and questioning, "So, I guess I'm the one who did that to you?"
Nearly bursting a blood vessel, Garou shouted, "What do ya mean, l guess?! Try to remember when ya almost kill somebody!"
Wild Horn, Stinger, and all the others were surprised when they heard the Human Monster yelling this, while Monster Mask's helmet hid a slight look of regret.
Keeping a neutral but guarded stance, Monster Mask quickly continued to talk, "Well, this changes things. I had assumed you'd be in a more arrogant mood, as opposed to an angry one, so I'll try to be quick about this. I don't remember what happened after you ripped my arm off, other than being really angry and then blacking out. Regardless, I am sorry that I almost killed you. I made some assumptions about you... but that doesn't matter. Killing people isn't what Heroes do."
When Shunshi said this, Garou gave the Hero a suspicious glare before he continued, "Honestly, though, I'm still pissed off at you and wish I could spare the time and energy to go after you on my own, but that's not an option anymore."
With a genuine hint of interest, Garou mockingly questioned, "Why's that? Feel like it'd be more fun to gang up on me with your pals?"
Frowning, Shunshing shook his head and explained, "Not in the slightest. I'm guessing you're at least vaguely aware of all this Monster Association stuff. Basically, for the sake of everyone's safety, we can't risk having you running around as a wild card when we've got bigger fish to fry. You don't seem like the kind of guy who'd want countless people dying, so I'd like you to come with us quietly to help us all avoid that."
"What!? Some monsters start working together, and you lose the nerve to fight me like a man?! I've taken out nearly a hundred of you loser Heroes, and you think those monsters are a bigger threat than me!?" Garou roared with vitriol in his veins.
Shaking his head, this time more desperately, Monster Mask made one last attempt, "No! This is bigger than any grudges between us! The Monster Association has already killed thousands of people! This is Humanity at large we're talking about! Please, this is your last chance! Come quietly with us and maybe... I don't know, I can ask the Hero Association if we can have another grudge match to settle the score if I live through whatever's coming next... Otherwise, we're going to have to take you by force. Now, considering the fact that you ripped off my God damn arm the last time we fought, I'd say I'm giving you a pretty good deal."
As Monster Mask uttered those last words, he struck up an open-claw stance and shrunk his flames as he readied Fist Of The Impenitraple Fire Spirit.
Spinning his spear to point it at Garou, Stinger exclaimed, "You heard him, punk. Give up the hunt, or you're gonna get it."
Internally, however, Stinger pondered, Wait. His arm? What?!
Pointing the Pile Bison forward, Wild Horn added, "Exactly! Just because we want to take you alive, that doesn't mean we aren't willing to hurt you!
The Hero Hunter's eye twitched at these threats, as he struggled to push his seething words out through gritted teeth, "Go quietly? Take me by force?! You think you and your goons can pull that off...!? Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho! Not after what you did to me! This is gonna be fun!"
Just as he finished his declaration, Garou rushed forward with a speed that Shunshi was only just a second behind, Stinger could just barely see, and that Wild Horn couldn't process at all.
Shusnhi had expected Garou's first move to be aimed at him, so he failed to react in time to save the actual target, Wild Horn, from the Human Monster's first attack.
Garou had maneuvered into place at incredible speeds in order to strike Wild Horn's liver.
The B-Class Hero had been confident in his armor's defensive abilities, with him having even tested it against gunshots. So, when the Hero Hunter's strike shattered his armor like it was glass, Wild Horn was stunned with surprise before being stunned with pain.
In the nanoseconds where Wild Horn was being knocked to the ground, Monster Mask had turned to spin-kick Garou.
The Hero Hunter reacted fast enough to turn and raise his arm and leg in defense, but his guard was overwhelmed by the added force of the explosion that Monster Mask's foot set off on contact with Garou's arm. With the blast effectively doubling the force of impact from Shunshi's attack, Garou was sent flying out of the shed and toward Smile Man. The A-Class Hero's typically unchanging face was hit with a shot of shock when he recognized the Hero Hunter being flung in his direction.
Reacting just fast enough to launch an attack, Smile Man shouted, "World-Shattering Spin," as he spun the ball of his kendama on the ground and blasted it to intercept the villain's trajectory.
To Smile Man's satisfaction, his attack landed perfectly. Unfortunately, as soon as Garou was struck with the spinning ball, he repositioned himself on the spot, hit the ball, and pierced it with his fingers in order to keep himself from being launched away. Before Smile Man could attempt to pull his weapon back, the Hero Hunter struck the ball with his free hand and shattered it.
As Smile Man and the others looked at this display of speed and power with horror and confusion, Garou reached for the weapon's cord and grabbed it, once again moving faster than Smile Man could keep up with.
Wrapping his palm around the cord, Garou easily pulled the massive hammer at the other end of it from Smile Man's grasp, the Hero unable to compete with the Human Monster's immense strength. Once the weapon was near him, Garou hit the hammer with an open-palm strike and sent it hurtling at Chain'N'Toad.
With everything moving so fast, Chain'N'Toad couldn't react quickly enough to get himself to safety, as the nearly human-sized hammer struck him dead-on at the speed of a formula one racecar. This hit took the Hero's headgear off, took out a few of the trees that were behind him, and left Chain'N'Toad bleeding and unconscious on the ground.
And just like that, in the span of seven seconds, the Hero Hunter had taken out three members of Death Gatling's squadron.
Gun-Gun and Shooter were both quick to open fire after that, with Garou dodging their first shots with ease.
However, before Garou could evade any more projectiles, he felt a pair of glowing-white ropes wrap around his neck and left ankle. The burning sensation these ropes created were something that the Hero Hunter had grown somewhat familiar with.
On top of this, due to being stopped mid-movement, the Human Monster took a bullet to his left shoulder and an arrow to the matching arm.
"Yes, I hit him! The poison should take effect soon," Shooter proclaimed.
Garou was going to attempt to pivot around to get a look at whatever it was Monster Mask was doing but was stopped when the whips flung him into the air without releasing their stranglehold on him. As the Human Monster found himself thrown above the treeline, he was able to notice Monster Mask jumping above him, the other ends of the whips attached to his hands.
However, the second Monster Mask reached the end of his whips' length, he pulled tightly on them to send himself down while also dragging his target toward him, readying a kick as they grew closer.
The Hero Hunter found himself in a difficult situation. He was being strangled by a burning rope as his leg was getting jerked about by its ankle. On top of this, the way Monster Mask was pulling on him caused both ends of his body to get scrunched into each other. To make matters worse for the young man, he now had a bullet and a poisoned arrow stuck in his left arm.
Despite all of these debilitating factors, Garou still managed to muster the strength and willpower to shift his position as he rose. He was going to attempt a counter-attack with the right half of his body, preparing a Fist Of Flowing Water Crushing Rock strike to parry Monster Mask's kick.
As the two martial artists collided with each other, Garou was prepared to use what he'd learned from Bang to redirect Monster Mask's kick and then punch him in his groin. However, this plan was thwarted when an explosion came off of Shunshi's leg as soon as Garou's fingers touched it, knocking his hand away and breaking his pinky finger.
As such, Monster Mask's kick landed on target, planting his spiked boot firmly into Garou's torso, setting off another blast on contact that would have normally propelled the recipient away. However, Shunshi was holding his Burn Whips tightly and had significantly shortened their length. Because of this, Garou was forced to endure an unending barrage of explosions pressed against his gut by a spiked, metal boot until he crashed hard into the ground.
As his imprint was being pressed into the Earth, Garou was still stuck under Monster Mask's detonating heel. While Shunshi kept Garou pinned, he was holding the power of his explosions to a low enough point that he assumed wouldn't kill Garou.
Despite not putting his life in immediate danger, these blasts still packed a painful punch. Combined with the whips keeping his neck and ankle bound, and the projectiles lodged in his arm, the Hero Hunter feared that there might not be a way out of this.
As the Heroes were giving Monster Mask's attack looks of awe and shock, Stinger cheered, "Woah, dude! That attack was insane! And you already got him! Amazing!"
Death Gatling meanwhile, was panicking internally, What the... What the Hell was all that?! I could hardly see half of their movements! That freak broke through our formation and took out three of us like it was nothing. And Monster Mask... If he hadn't been here, we would've been slaughtered by the Hero Hunter... DAMN IT! He's going to make S-Class off this for sure, and the rest of us will hardly be noticed! This won't end the ranking hierarchy at all!
What the Hell?! What is this?! What the fuck!? Why isn't this explosion stopping?! How is he making me explode every time I touch him?! What kind of unfair bullshit is this!? He keeps getting new powers every time I fight him! Garou screamed into his mind.
This... This isn't how it was supposed to happen, the young Hero Hunter thought as he imagined himself climbing up an impossibly long and winding stairway.
The Heroes were... supposed to be my stepping stones, each one a painful and grueling step towards becoming a monster. I knew that going in. I accepted that wholeheartedly... But Monster Mask... This fucking bastard! Every time he comes back, it feels like the step I took has been pulled out from beneath me.
At that point, the next step up the stairs Garou took gave out under his weight, causing him to fall from the great height. As he climbed to his feet, ready to begin the arduous trudge again, Garou looked on in horror as a metal wall in the shape of Monster Mask's helmet barred his path.
He won't let me climb. He won't let me move on. Is this really where my journey ends? Thrown back to the bottom without even a chance to climb back up?
Once this prospect had taken root in his mind, the wall's mouth began to breathe white-hot flames at Garou, consuming him in their burning wrath.
While pulling tighter on the Burn Whips in an attempt to hasten Garou's loss of consciousness, Shunshi looked down at him and exclaimed, "I'm actually a little sorry it's gonna end this way for us. I really did want a fair fight. But I guess, in the end, kids like you, who fight for their own sick kicks, will always lose against guys like us who fight for justice."
When Garou heard these words, it was almost as if the pain he was feeling vanished. In his mind, the Human Monster ran straight through the flames and burst a hole in Monster Mask's face.
Back in reality, all of a sudden, the Human Monster spun on the ground and threw Monster Mask off of himself.
As they both awkwardly but swiftly climbed to their feet, Garou was clearly still in an uncomfortable position. His neck and ankle were still bound, but the wildly angry look on his face screamed to Shunshi that this wouldn't be an issue for long.
After spitting out a small puddle of blood, Garou let out a deep breath. However, this breath was odd. Identically to when he and Shunshi had fought in C-City Park, a burst of steam exited the Hero Hunter's mouth.
The second the initial shock of Garou getting to his feet wore off, Gun-Gun and Shooter opened fire again.
However, Garou dodged their attacks, this time unintentionally, as he rocketed himself the short distance to Monster Mask, using his free leg to plant a kick of his own into the Hero's armored torso. The following explosion knocked Garou back once again, but the sheer power behind the strike also sent Shunshi back.
While his armor held up and absorbed some of the damage, the shockwaves of the blow left Monster Mask momentarily dazed and forced the Burn Whips to flicker out. Shunshi knew that if his explosive barrier hadn't been there to cancel out at least some of that blow, then he'd be taking the armor back to Dr. Stench for repairs once again.
Glaring at Monster Mask with pure vitriol and death in his eyes, Garou roared, "Where the fuck-?!"
As Garou spoke, Gun-Gun opened fire once more as Shooter rapidly shot his entire quiver into the air.
Without even bothering to look in their direction, Garou ripped the arrow from his arm and used its tip to deflect Gun-Gun's bullets. Then, as Shooter's rain of arrows fell onto the Hero Hunter, he quickly snatched the first one that would have hit him out of the air with his free hand and used the projectiles he now wielded to deflect the rest of the arrows.
Once the last two arrows came down on him, Garou redirected them at Gun-Gun and Shooter. Both of the B-Class Heroes' shoulders were hit with the poisoned projectiles, causing them to collapse to the ground as the toxins quickly rendered them unconscious.
Continuing to speak as if that interruption hadn't happened, Garou went on, "Does a bastard like you get on assuming you know what I'm fighting for!?"
While Garou yelled this, the poison in his arm seemed to be forced out of his wound, with the same thing happening to the bullet lodged in his shoulder. As Garou's wounds slowly stopped bleeding, Stinger rocketed in with his spear at the Human Monster.
To the A-Class' credit, Garou had to actively take notice of this attack to counter, thinking for the briefest second about how this spear thrust moved faster than any bullet he'd yet seen. Flowing like water, Garou moved around the melee weapon and began to throw a punch at Stinger's face.
However, Stinger was saved at the last moment by Monster Mask rushing in and unleashing a flurry of Fist Of The Impenetrable Fire Spirit strikes. Unfortunately, Garou began to counter and parry these attacks. Even as the explosions went off and Shunshi's metal claws and spikes cut into him, the Human Monster hardly flinched. Even as the flesh of his arms was burned, cut, and torn apart.
The shockwaves of the warriors' strikes were enough to knock Stinger away, causing him to tumble across the ground while scrambling to stay standing.
Surprising Monster Mask, the Hero Hunter continued his rant, "And where the fuck does a blessed bastard like you get off claiming he gets to fight for justice!?"
It was Garou's statement about Shunshi being blessed that left him genuinely confused. Regrettably, this left the Hero open for Garou to begin landing attacks. Shunshi's explosions and armor stopped him from taking any severe wounds, but he was still getting pummeled and knocked around by Garou's volley of attacks, and he could tell from his armor's creaking noises that it wouldn't hold up forever.
As Shunshi continued getting beaten down, Stinger sprung at Garou with a Giga-Thrust and shouted, "Hey! Back off, asshat!"
Once more, Garou only needed to use the smallest amount of his attention to redirect Stinger's attack.
However, this minor distraction was all Shunshi required to recompose himself and land some blows of his own. A spiked and exploding uppercut to the Hero Hunter's jaw, a bursting elbow to his face, and a blasting knee to his heavily burned and bruised torso.
Garou leaped back after all that, wanting to gain a half-second to compose himself due to the attacks having inflicted some genuine pain.
Just as it seemed like Garou was about to speak again, Smile-Man, having apparently recovered his hammer, decided to join in and attacked Garou from behind. With the Hero Hunter's attention elsewhere, the A-Class' hammer swing managed to hit Garou squarely in the back of his head, even drawing a small amount of blood.
However, immediately after taking this blow to his head, Garou hit Smile Man with an elbow strike to his solar plexus without even looking at him. This blow not only hit hard enough to force Smile Man to spit up blood but sent him flying into a tree, breaking the plant as he landed spine-first against it.
And with that, Death Gatling's nine-man team was down to four.
Choosing to finish his proclamation, Garou yelled, "A fuck like you, born with powers that just keep growing with every fight! A privileged bastard like you doesn't have any right to judge me or anyone!"
Infuriated at all the injured and unconscious laying around him, the utter disrespect of his character, the prospect of losing to Garou once again, and the continued mislabeling of Kie as a power he was born with, Shunshi yelled back to alleviate at least a microbe of his fury, "You stupid dick stain! Kie isn't a power I was born with! It's a skill I learned through hard work and training! I wasn't born strong or rich or anything! I've worked myself to death for years to get to where I am because I want to help people! I'm not some asshole who goes around judging everyone else, and my Kie is proof of that! It's a power that comes from rigorous meditation and becoming one with your selflessness and desire to help others! It's something that a psychotic, cold-hearted bastard like YOU will never obtain! I'll show you, you evil freak! I'll show you the power that Humanity's goodness holds! RRRAAAAAAGGH!"
Making his declaration, Shunshi charged back in to fight Garou, who now seemed to be the one processing his confusion. The two began to clash once more, and although whatever thoughts Garou had were slowing him down, he still clearly held the edge.
Moved by at least some of what Monster Mask said, and not wanting to leave his friend to fight on his own, Stinger gripped his spear as tightly as he could and torpedoed into battle faster than ever before.
Even with the incredible difference in their strength, Stinger did what he could, fully intending to use his attacks as nothing more than distractions for Shunshi to land hits. He would even take a bone-shattering blow from Garou if it meant leaving the Hero Hunter open for a brief moment to Shunshi's attacks.
The very nanosecond Stinger was close enough to be countered, Garou threw out a counterblow that would have snaked up the Hero's spear and crushed his ribs.
However, Stinger's mind flashed back to when Shunshi was forced to get in between him and The War King. Back then, his own momentum carrying him into that monster's line of fire would have been the end for him if Monster Mask hadn't been there to help. Even then, all he could do was helplessly crash into his friend's back and hide while hoping no bullets would hit him.
As these thoughts raced through Stinger's mind faster than he'd ever known was possible, the spikey-haired Hero suddenly pulled his spear up over his head and away from Garou's arm. With his weapon above him, Stinger began to spin it as fast as he could. Utilizing the same kind of lift he'd use for his Quadruple Giga Thrust, the spear-wielder pulled himself back from the Hero Hunter.
These fast actions saved Stinger from taking one of Garou's strikes to his chest, only getting hit with the kinetic wind-force of the strike instead. This ended up painfully propelling Stinger a few feet higher into the air than he had intended.
Garou had allowed his attention to be focused on the A-Class Hero's aerial movements for a fraction too long and paid the price of a burning, metal, spiked fist to his face. However, as soon as Garou was hit, he countered with an open-palm strike into Shunshi's face, or rather, his helmet's face.
Before Garou could attack any further, he had to side-step the oncoming spear thrust from the shrinking shadow above him. Once Stinger's attack missed and put a new hole in the ground, Garou side-kicked him.
While this attack tore muscles and cracked bone, Stinger was able to find the strength to pull out his spear, plant it behind himself, and use it to force himself from being sent flying.
Once again getting distracted, Garou ended up taking an open-claw strike to his torso and a rising elbow to his chin before he could start striking back.
As all this carnage raged on, Glasses looked on in awe and fear.
After seeing Smile Man get knocked away, and listening to what Shunshi had to say, Glasses lamented, I... I haven't even been able to do anything since the fight started! Am I just dead weight?!
Looking at Stinger and Monster Mask's struggle to hold any ground in this fight, Glasses gritted his teeth in fury. Very quickly, he reached into his pocket and pushed a button on some sort of device. He then rushed in to join the battle to play the same distraction role as Stinger.
The fight continued on like this for a brief thirty seconds, although, this felt like an eternity to the combatants.
Shunshi would get pummeled by Garou for a second or two until Stinger interrupted him with a spear thrust, or Glasses by using his body to take a hit. In either case, this would give Monster Mask just enough time to recompose himself and unleash a few counter-attacks.
If the fight continued this way for long enough, it could honestly end with either side as the victor. Unfortunately, Monster Mask's supporters didn't have a prayer of staying in the land of the conscious for as long he'd need them to in order to get that outcome. This much was obvious to the lone on-looker, Death Gatling.
This... This is... What am I supposed to do?! How can I help them?! They're all too close for me to use my mini-gun, Death shouted at himself as he looked at the weapon that incased his arm.
His free hand fell to his side, as Death Gatling felt despair take over his soul. However, his limp hand also felt the bowie knife he kept sheathed at his side for emergencies. His eyes going wide, Death Gatling quickly drew the knife, gritted his teeth, and glared at it, before seeing Glasses take a punch to his face.
"Alright, you bastard! Get ready to-!" Death Gatling started to yell before the arrival of another Hero stopped him.
Crashing into the ground near the three-on-one battle of Heroes versus Hunter, this figure's entrance had created a smoke cloud.
Everyone but Garou was distracted by this, and so the Human Monster took the chance to punch Monster Mask in his face.
The blow hit hard enough to take off a piece of Shunshi's helmet's face-plate, staggered him to the ground, and made him lose focus on keeping up his aura of Kie flames.
Smiling, despite having to give up all the flesh around his right hand's knuckles for that attack, Garou got ready to finish Monster Mask off.
Just in the nick of time, though, Genos exploded out of the dust cloud and landed and rocket-propelled kick into Garou's spine, sending him crashing into the trees.
"I received an alert from other Heroes that my aid was needed," Genos exclaimed.
"Thank God," Glasses lamented as he fell to his bloodied knees.
At the same time, he pulled that same device from his pocket, looking at it in gratitude as his namesake glasses broke apart and fell from his face. Simultaneously, Stinger let out a sigh of relief, along with a bloody cough, as he used his spear and what little strength he had left to keep himself propped up.
Ignoring those two and stepping up to Shunshi, Genos offered him a hand. Said hand now had the same type of claws which the gauntlets of Shunshi's armor were designed with.
"I did not expect to find you here, Shunshi, but the situation is what it is. Dr. Stench has finished and installed the martial arts combat routines that you suggested I get, thanks in part to your sister. Now, I understand that you wished to face the Hero Hunter on your own, but considering the impending threats we must deal with, I find it best that we work together and defeat Garou here and now. Are you still capable of doing this?" Genos explained and asked as he pulled Shunshi to his feet.
Shunshi's exposed eye looked at Genos with a mixture of gratitude and surprise, before the eyeball's owner responded, "Of course, Genos-Senpai! Making sure Garou's defeated takes priority over any pride I might have! Let's do this!"
Getting into position to stand at Genos' side, Shunshi struck up Fist Of The Impenetrable Fire Spirit and reactivated his explosive barrier.
As he struck up a vaguely similar stance to Shunshi's whilst also readying one of his incinerators, Genos instructed the three others, "You three, get the injured out of harm's way if you can and then make a full retreat. None of you are in a condition where you could aid us any further."
Hearing that, Stinger and Glasses nodded and agreed to the Demon Cyborg's reasoning, pulling themselves to their feet as Genos and Shunshi were about to charge where Garou had been kicked off too.
However, Death Gatling gritted his teeth and glared viciously at that, muttering to himself, "Like Hell, I'm retreating. Once the others are safe, I'll be the one to blast Garou to pieces!"
As the three other Heroes began to try and make their way towards their beaten comrades, Garou came exploding from the woods, charging Shunshi and Genos as if he were a feral animal.