New Threads
In the streets of Q-City, a white-haired man is limping through the empty streets while bleeding profusely. His shirt and pants are torn and stained with his blood, he has cuts and bruises all over his body, and he is very pissed off. More specifically, he is pissed off at himself for being too careless when he attempted to face a powerful S-Class hero. The man’s name is Garou, or as the public refers to him, The Hero Hunter.
Garou is the former pupil of the S-Class hero, Silverfang. However, Garou was expelled when he attacked his fellow students in an unprovoked manner. The reason behind it is because he wanted to see if he was truly ready for his journey to becoming a monster. After he defeated all of them, Garou then quickly looked over scrolls of secret techniques that Bang had kept in a safe. However, Bang came back early from an errand, and he beat Garou up after he saw what Garou did before expelling him from the dojo.
Garou managed to patch himself up before preparing himself for his mission. What is his mission? To plunge humanity into despair due to his belief that heroes in this world are nothing but bullies seeking attention. This mindset is a result of his childhood since he was bullied by kids pretending to be heroes while he played the monster. It wasn’t like Garou didn’t want to be a monster, but it was because the game was always one sided. The monster always loses, that’s how its supposed to be, but Garou will change that and become the ultimate monster.
So far though, it’s been going… alright. Garou has managed to defeat many A-class, C-Class, and two S-Class heroes. His confidence had boosted exponentially after his battle with the two S-Class heroes, but that confidence proved to be his downfall. Garou tried to attack another S-Class hero, Watchdog Man, and… let’s just say he got his ass handed to him on a silver platter.
I never thought that furry would be able to beat me. His strength, speed, and stamina were exceptional. I’m surprised I managed to get away before he could knock me out. Garou thinks to himself. Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist was made for human opponents, which makes it a poor match for four legged opponents. Heh. Guess I learned something from this humiliating battle after all. Garou thinks to himself before stopping.
Garou smirks while clenching his fist. This is the freaking best! I know I can become so much stronger— Garou stops his train of thought when he catches the sight of another recognizable hero. Is that… Yeah. It’s King! Garou thinks to himself. King is also an S-Class hero, but he is widely known as the strongest man on the planet. King is walking with some bald guy, but Garou pays the baldy no mind. Instead, all of his focus is on King.
This is a one in million chance. I won’t waste it! Garou thinks to himself. Garou then feels his strength returning as his body radiates power. My body can handle this! The pain, though still present, doesn’t hurt as much anymore. I’m so stoked that I’m drowning in power! Garou thinks to himself.
However, Garou fails to notice an individual watching him from the shadows. This individual feels the power radiating from Garou, and they wish to watch this battle unfold. “King! Prepare to be hunted!” Garou yelled before charging at King.
As Garou inches closer to King, Garou envisions all the possible moves King could pull. What will your first move be?! Will I be able to counter in time?! It doesn’t matter now! Garou thinks to himself.
“KING!!! GET READY TO DIE—” Garou is cut off when the bald guy kicks Garou through a wall, knocking him out.
“That guy was trying to attack you. You know him?” the bald guy asked.
“Nope. Never seen him.” King said.
“First, we have to deal with monsters, now hoodlums? Give me a break.” The bald guy said.
The bald guy’s name is Saitama, a B-Class hero and, unknown to Garou and the rest of the world, the strongest being on the planet. Every world ending disaster that has happened, Saitama has been there to deal with it and he always wins with one punch. Though that means he hasn’t had a strong opponent to face for a while, which caused Saitama to show less and less emotion. He isn’t heartless by any stretch; he’s just really really really bored most of the time.
Saitama is walking with King because the two are coming back from a battle with a monster attack at the martial arts tournament. King and Saitama have became good friends since Saitama learned that King isn't all what the public thought he is. King is actually a coward. A very lucky coward who conveniently shows up at the right time when a powerful monster is defeated. But King is a good person at heart, and he is trying to be a good hero.
Saitama then suddenly asks, “By the way, King. Have you heard the news about what’s been going on?”
“Hm? What do you mean?” King asked.
“Well, there’s been a lot of talk about a guy going around calling himself a monster. I think his name is Garou.” Saitama said.
“Hm. Well I’ve heard of him, but I’ve never seen him in person.” King said.
“Okay. I was just wondering because what Garou is doing is reminiscent of how I went around calling myself a hero in my early years.” Saitama said.
Saitama then adds, “I’m curious if he is all he is spouting about, and hopefully he'll be stronger than me.”
“Hm. Maybe you’ll see him one day.” King said, oblivious that they just ran into Garou.
Then, a person bumps into Saitama, and he says, “Oh. Sorry man.”
However, Saitama gets creeped out when he sees the man’s face. It is all pale, and his eyes appear to be dull. Creepy! Saitama thinks to himself. The man walks off, not saying a word, and leaving both King and Saitama creeped out.
“That guy was weird.” Saitama said.
“I’ve learned to ignore those people whenever I run into them.” King said.
“Yeah. I think I may start doing that from now on.” Saitama said before the two leave the area.
With the strange man, he stumbles toward the hole Garou went through and he peeks in to see Garou knocked out. The man stumbles to Garou before checking his pulse and sees that Garou is alive. The man had heard everything from what Saitama and King were saying about Garou, as well as seeing Garou’s eminence power. The man decides that Garou will be perfect for IT.
While Garou did lose, it just assumes that it was because of his injuries. It will fix that. It will be the thing that will solve all of Garou’s problems. The man then starts to convulse and shake before slumping onto the ground, dead. Then, black ooze leaves the man’s lifeless body before it begins to make its way towards Garou.
The black ooze reaches Garou’s left hand and latches onto it before slowly crawling up his arm. The black ooze then begins to spread and surround Garou’s body while also healing Garou’s injuries. Once Garou’s whole body is covered in the black ooze, the ooze covers Garou’s face before changing. The black ooze begins to take shape as it creates armor on Garou’s shoulders and forearms, white veins appear all over Garou’s body, and finally a mask with two large white eyes forms on Garou’s face.
Garou’s eyes then shoot open before he sits up and gasps for air before yelling, “What happened?!” Garou observes his surroundings to see that he is laying a top of rubble.
“Did… Did I lose to King?” Garou asked himself.
“I guess I really wasn’t prepared for him after all.” Garou said.
Garou sits up before he notices the man’s dead body and yells, “OhmyGod!”
Garou jumps to his feet and looks around frantically. Did a monster kill this guy?! If so, then it may still… be… here… What the hell?! Garou stops his train of thought when he looks at his hands and notices that they're covered in a black suit. Garou then looks over himself and sees that his whole body is covered in a black suit.
What the hell? Garou thinks to himself. Garou looks closely at the suit and sees that it is made out of a goo-like substance. He also notices the armor on his arms and shoulders. What is this? How did this suit get on me? Garou thinks to himself. “I have to get out of this and get back to the hideout.” Says Garou to himself.
Garou begins to try to take the suit off, but he can’t find a way to take it off. Garou then tries to rip it off him, but it won’t tear at all. In fact, it feels like it’s glued to Garou’s very own skin. Dammit! Why won’t it come off?! Garou thinks to himself, frustrated.
Garou gives up and says to himself, “Dammit! … I’ll figure out how to get off later. Right now, I need to get back to the hideout.”
Garou exits through the hole he was smashed through and sees that little time has passed. Once he steps out of the hole, Garou sees another hero by the name of Death Gatling walking around the corner. Another hero? I could maybe fight him, but… this suit may hinder me. I’ll hunt him once I get this ‘thing’ off me. Garou thinks to himself before walking away. However, Garou fails to notice Death Gatling catching a glimpse of him.
About 2 hours later in the middle of a forest. An 8-year-old child by the name of Tareo is currently walking through the forest and toward his secret base. It is a rusty old shack that he and his friends go to play and have fun. However, the kids that Tareo calls his friends aren’t really his friends. In reality, they just keep Tareo around in case they need a scapegoat should they get into trouble.
Tareo is aware of this, but he keeps hanging out with them because they're the closest thing he has to real friends. Well, there is one person who has truly been kind to him as of late, and that person is Garou. Tareo met Garou in a park when Garou appeared and wanted to look through Tareo’s hero almanac for some reason. Tareo let him read it even though he didn’t know why, but he was at least glad someone was nice to him for once.
However, Tareo hasn’t seen him for a while, and he is worried that Garou may have gotten hurt. The recent monster attacks haven’t eased his fear in the slightest. But Tareo is hoping that Garou is okay, and safe somewhere. Tareo finally arrives at the secret hideout, but all his friends are outside for some reason.
“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” Tareo asked.
“Oh. Hey, Tareo. There’s some guy in the hideout.” Kid 1 said.
“Really?” Tareo asked.
“Yeah. We’ve been trying to figure out a way to get him out.” Said Kid 2.
That’s when Kid 3 suddenly says, “Hey! I’ve got an idea!”
“What is it?” Kid 2 asked.
“We’ll send Tareo to get the guy out.” Kid 3 said.
“Huh? Why me?” Tareo asked.
“Just go do it!” Kid 3 yelled.
“Yeah! Just try to get that guy to leave!” Kid 1 yelled.
“Uh. But what if—”
“Quit whining and do it!” Kid 2 yelled, hitting Tareo over the head.
Tareo winces at the blow and rubs his head. Tareo, knowing his friends won’t let him go, hesitantly walks to the shack. He is hopping that whoever is in there will leave their hideout peacefully.
In Tareo’s hideout, Garou is looking over himself, still trying to find a way to get the suit off him. He has tried using brute force, but it wouldn’t tear. He has tried waiting it out, but nothing happened. Hell, he even tried to bite it, but he was unable to because of the mask he is wearing. He is just stuck on what he needs to do.
“I need to get this suit off, or else I may never be able to hunt heroes again.” Garou said to himself.
Garou then sees some scissors nearby and says, “I guess I could try cutting it.”
Garou goes to grab the scissors when black tendrils spring from his arm and goes toward the scissors. “What the?!” Garou yelled. He watches as the tendrils grab the scissors and then bring them into Garou’s hand. This action piques Garou’s interest. Huh. That caught me off guard, but this… this is interesting. Garou thinks to himself. Garou looks toward the board he made with the pictures of heroes he’s hunted, and he sees a marker.
Garou points his hand toward the marker, and he thinks about the tendrils grabbing the marker. As he is thinking this, tendrils appear from his arm, and they slowly move toward the marker. The tendrils slowly grab the marker before bringing it back to Garou. Holy crap! This suit is… is… out of this world! Garou thinks to himself.
Suddenly, the door to his shack opens and someone walks in causing Garou to get into a fighting stance. “Who’s there?!” Garou Yelled. Then, tendrils spring from Garou’s back and toward the person entering his shack. Garou is shocked by this briefly, but he ignores it when he sees the tendrils have caught someone and they bring the person to Garou. Garou sees that the person that entered his shack is a kid.
“Please don’t eat me! Please don’t eat me!” The kid yelled, thinking Garou is a monster.
“I’m not going to eat you. Now tell me what you are doing here.” Garou said in a demanding tone.
“I… Well… this is my friend's secret base and… and…” The kid can barely get his sentence out due to his fear.
Then Garou recognizes the kid, “Wait. You’re that kid with the hero almanac.”
“Huh? M… Mister? Is that you?” Tareo asked.
“I told you to stop calling me mister.” Says Garou as he gently sets Tareo down with the tendrils.
“Now what are you doing sneaking around?” Garou asked.
“I… well… uh…”
Garou is getting irritated that Tareo isn’t answering his question. But then he realizes that his mask is probably scaring Tareo. So, like with the tendrils, Garou thinks about the mask coming off his face. Luckily it worked, and the mask recedes back allowing Tareo to see Garou’s face.
“There. Is that better?” Garou asked.
Tareo nods before Garou asks, “Alright. Now tell me, what are you doing here?”
“Well… this is my friend's secret base. We come here to play a lot.” Tareo said.
“Oh.” Garou said, now understanding.
“Mister… what are you wearing?” Tareo asked, out of both fear and curiosity.
Garou glances down at the suit as he says, “Honestly… I don’t know. I was knocked ou– asleep and woke up wearing this… suit.”
“It's… kind of scary.” Tareo said.
“Oh, come on. It ain’t that scary.” Garou says.
Tareo, though still bothered by the suit, decides to change the subject, “Mister. I don’t want to sound rude, but could you… leave?”
“What? I’ve got no other place to go. You really going to kick me out?” Garou asked.
“I’m… sorry. It’s just… my friends will be mad at me if you don’t leave.” Tareo said.
“Then tell them to buzz off. Don’t let them boss you around.” Garou said.
“I… I… I can’t! They may hit me again.” Tareo said.
“… *sigh* Fine. I’ll leave soon.” Garou said.
Tareo sighs with relief, “Th… Thank you.”
But then Garou places his hand on Tareo’s shoulder, “But first. Let me tell you something that I wished to God someone would’ve told me sooner.”
Outside of the shack, Tareo’s so-called friends are starting to get impatient with Tareo. He’s been in there longer than they thought.
“What’s taking him so long?” Kid 3 asked.
“Maybe something happened to him.” Kid 1 said.
“Or maybe—”
“Step back, kids.” A sudden voice said.
The kids whip their heads around to see 8 heroes walking toward the shack. The team of heroes consists of Death Gatling, Stinger, Chain’n’Toad, Smile Man, Gun Gun, Shooter, Glasses, and Wild Horn.
“Woah! Heroes!” Kid 1 said in awe.
“What are they doing here?” Kid 3 asked.
“There’s a monster in that shack, kids. You need to leave. Now.” Wild Horn said.
“Oh! Okay!” Kid 2 said before running away with his friends.
“Wait! What about Tareo?!” Kid 1 asked.
“He’ll be fine! The heroes will save him!” Kid 3 yelled, not caring for their scapegoat’s life.
Inside the shack, Garou is sitting on a chair while giving Tareo his advice. Tareo stands before Garou, listening intently.
“In this world, many people are going to try to boss you around and will want you to be something you’re not. But if you want respect. If you don’t want to be bossed around forever. If you want to be your own person. Then you’ve gotta get strong.” Garou said.
“Huh?” Tareo is confused.
“That’s it. Some pretty good advice, right?” Garou asked, looking confident.
“Um... not really. It’s kinda obvious.” Tareo said.
Garou is silent before slamming his fist on the table, startling Tareo.
“Yeah! It is obvious! That way you’ll remember easier.” Garou said, chuckling.
Garou then stands up from the chair and says, “Anyway. You should probably head home. I’ll be out of here by tomorrow.”
“Okay. It was nice seeing you again, Mister.” Tareo said, making his way towards the door.
Garou sighs and whispers, “He’s a good kid, but a bad judge of character.”
However, Garou then senses something outside of the shack. He senses heroes. The heroes found me?! How?! Garou thinks to himself. Just as Tareo starts to open the door, Garou shoots tendrils out to shut the door back.
Tareo is startled and asks, “Huh? What’s wrong, Mister?”
“I forgot to ask something. Could I see the hero almanac really quick? You know, as a way to repay me for giving you that advice earlier.” Garou said, lying.
“Huh? Why?” Tareo asked.
“I just need to look at it for a bit.” Garou said, sounding more urgent.
Tareo is hesitant, but he reaches in his bag and gives Garou his hero almanac.
“This book covers a lot of info about the heroes, right?” Garou asked, flipping through the pages.
“Yeah. But it doesn’t cover everything.” Tareo said.
“It’ll have to do.” Garou said, going to a wall and poking a hole through it.
Garou looks through it and he sees Stinger, Wild Horn, Smile Man, and Death Gatling in the front. He then sees that Glasses, and Chain’n’Toad are in the back. The final two heroes being Shooter and Gun Gun on each side. 8 in all. Taking these guys out could be a cinch, but I’m not exactly sure if this suit would help me. Garou thinks to himself.
“Mister. Is there someone outside?” Tareo asked
“Be quiet!” Garou says, trying to look through the almanac quickly.
“But Mister—”
“I said shut up!” Garou yelled, shutting Tareo up.
Death Gatling’s voice then booms as he yells, “Garou! We know you’re in there! Come out, now!”
“Huh?! Who was that?!” Tareo asked.
Finally, Garou gives the book back to Tareo and says, “Turd, stay on the floor, and don’t come out until I say so.”
“O… Okay.” Tareo said.
“Okay suit...” Garou’s mask covers his face again.
“…let’s see what you can do.” Garou said.
Outside with the heroes. The heroes wait for Garou to exit the shack, but he hasn’t done so yet. The tension is starting to get to them and most just want to rush into the shack and take him out. Stinger, being one of the impatient heroes, grips his stinger tightly as he grits his teeth.
“It’s taking too long.” Stinger said.
“Just be patient. He won’t be able to take on all of us.” Death Gatling said.
“I’m just saying. He may be trying to make a plan.” Stinger said.
“Whatever it may be, it won’t work. Today, Garou is the one who is being hunted—”
Suddenly, black tendrils erupt from the roof before Garou jumps to the roof. Once he lands on the roof, all the heroes can now see Garou, and they’re shocked by his new appearance. The tendrils then back into Garou as Garou glares at the heroes with his white mask lenses. Silence then rings through the area before chuckling can be heard.
The chuckling comes from Garou as he says. “You? Hunting me? Please. You’re nothing but jokes.”
“Is… Is that Garou?” Wild Horn asked, fear running down his spine.
“It looks like him, but his appearance is completely different.” Glasses said.
“He must've transformed into a monster already! We need to put him down! Now!” Death Gatling yelled.
“Oh? So, my mere appearance is all it takes for you to want to kill me?” Garou asked.
“Well then, come and give it your best shot! Because today, YOU DIPSHITS ARE GOING TO BRING ME OVER A HUNDRED KILLS!!!” Garou screamed.
“Come and get some then, snake!” Gun Gun yelled before shooting at Garou.
Time seems to slow for Garou as he dodges the bullets before jumping toward a nearby tree with incredible speed, his claws digging into the tree. Incredible! I was so wrong about this suit! I feel faster, and stronger! Garou thinks to himself. Then, in the blink of an eye, Garou appears in front of Gun Gun before picking him by the throat and slamming his head into the ground headfirst.
“Gun Gun! You bastard!” Stinger yelled before throwing his stinger at Garou. However, Garou shoots tendrils at the incoming stinger, stopping it in place. Stinger stares in shock as he watches Garou snap his stinger in two.
“NO!” Stinger yelled.
“What’s the matter? You can’t fight me without your weapon? I thought heroes were supposed to fight on till the end.” Garou said, mocking Stinger.
Then, tendrils start to surround Garou’s right arm as he says, “You’re a pathetic excuse for a hero!”
Garou shoots his arm forward as a herd of tendrils fly toward Stinger. Stinger couldn’t react in time, and he got hit by the mass of tendrils. The impact of the hit sent Stinger through many trees before hitting one more tree and being trapped by a web-like goo. The tendrils then return to Garou, and he smirks behind the mask.
This suit is impressing me with every second! I love it! Garou thinks to himself. Then, Garou sees a rain of arrows coming at him. However, just like with Gun Gun, time slowed down. This gave Garou the chance to jump out of the way before seeing that the arrows came from Shooter who is currently shocked.
“Arrow rain is my special move! How did he know?!” Shooter yelled.
“That hero almanac sure did come in handy. However, I doubt arrow rain would have done him any good.” Garou said to himself quietly.
“I need to take out Shooter quickly. If he’s gone, then the others won’t have long range attackers anymore.” Garou said again to himself quietly.
Garou then dashes toward Shooter, but Smile Man sees this and yells, “Oh no you don’t!”
Smile Man then uses his Kendama to slam onto the ground in front of Garou. His goal is to force Garou back by destroying the ground in front of him. To his shock, Garou jumps over the destroyed ground as many large black tendrils erupt from Garou. Then, Garou dives to the ground before being engulfed by a giant black mass as he attacks Shooter.
Shooter gets hit by the black mass and he gets struck in a few spots before being launched into the air. Garou then emerges from the black mass before he uses Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist on Shooter. Because the suit has increased Garou’s strength, his attacks are much more powerful which is why every bone in Shooter’s body shattered from the impact of the punches. Shooter screams for a bit before passing out due to the pain and falling to the ground.
The remaining 5 heroes look at Garou in both shock and horror. Death Gatling said to them that Garou would be injured, but he was wrong. Garou isn’t injured. Instead has found a new power. A power which will help Garou to become absolute evil. Garou looks back at the heroes and he asks, “Who’s next?”