Between the mass layoff of staff by Solaria, the Hero Hunter taking out most of the A-Class roster and the Monster Association incapacitating the rest of their numbers, these past few days has seen the Hero Association at its most desperate. To aid in supporting the strike force the S-Class were told that they would be selecting only heroes who would be optimal to support them during the raid. There was truth in this of course as there are heroes with special abilities and skills that would best aid in fulfilling the objectives laid out by Child Emperor. On the other hand they only accounted for a small number of the support group and even then some weren’t necessarily Sitch’s first pick.

Then there were the other members of the support group which ideally should consist of powerful heroes to serve as a last line of defense for any stragglers that might escape from the assault by the S-Class. Unfortunately because of Garou and the initial invasion of the Monster Association they lost most of their fighting force. Mercifully thanks to the mysterious ‘Tomoro Sazaki’ Sitch was spared from just selecting whatever heroes managed to survive the week long onslaught which consisted primarily of B-Class heroes of reasonable strength and C-Class heroes who kept a low enough profile or were just lucky.

Truly seeing the heroes who participated in the failed ambush against Garou (which consisted of A-Class heroes) healed and combat ready was a relief. It made the situation just a bit less desperate but that did not mean he was confident in their chances especially if any of the stronger monsters managed to slip past the S-Class. It did not help that it was a scenario that was highly possible given the notes he read about the layout of the Monster Association base provided by Child Emperor earlier that morning.

Overall the situation was most unfavorable however he could do nothing but grit his teeth, hope for the best and maintain confidence that the S-Class would be able to handle the brunt of the enemy forces. However just as he was going down to meet the support heroes and debrief them Sekingar received a call. Sitch all but ignored it as he mulled over the present situation however his subordinate’s reaction caught him off guard. He knew Sekingar to be a man of focus and calm professionalism so to see him react in such a spirited way meant that whatever was said on the other line of that call was definitely news of worth.

Then the man proclaimed a miracle to have occurred and urged them to wait a while longer before beginning the debriefing. Naturally Sitch demanded an explanation and after collecting himself Sekingar reported the information that was relayed to him. What Sekingar explained to him indeed sounded like a miracle but despite all his experience with all the frankly fantastical elements of his job he knew better especially when they were not too long ago discussing a certain healer.

~O~

Metal Bat and Tank Top Master were fully expecting to make their own way to the Hero Association HQ on foot. So imagine their surprise when they, along with the other heroes who were leaving the building were instead called back by the hospital staff and told to wait for pickup. The only issue Metal Bat found with that request was that it messed up cool exit alongside Tank Top Master as he was forced to abort the journey and instead wait at the hospital. Silver lining, at least he got to spend just a little bit more time with Zenko.

All in all it didn’t necessarily take long for their transport to arrive. The group of heroes boarded the two helicopters or rather the two S-Class heroes boarded one while the rest were crammed in the other. Metal Bat rolled his eyes but didn’t complain since he’d rather not share a small space with Tank Top Master’s eccentric followers. He could only take so much talk about tank tops before he started bashing skulls in. The helicopter they boarded didn’t wait for the other before it took off at breakneck speeds.

During the trip the two S-Class heroes made small talk mostly speculating on the upcoming battle with the Monster Association and whether or not they would make it before their fellow S-Class started. They also had a long discussion about Garou when Metal Bat brought him up in a fit of anger. Both heroes were defeated by him and had strong feelings about the Hero Hunter. Metal Bat of course wanted a rematch sighting how unfavorable the conditions were for him during their initial encounter and vowed to take him out the next time they meet.

Tank Top Master was more mature about it. He recognized the mistakes he made during their initial encounter and while he also wanted another shot at the Hero hunter though silently recognized he was unlikely to eke out a victory. More training will be required before he was comfortable enough to pursue that. They arrived at the Hero Association HQ within minutes of their takeoff and Metal Bat didn’t wait for the copter to touch down before dropping out. Tank Top Master followed suit and the two S-Class heroes were greeted by a small group consisting of Sitch, another member of staff and lower ranked heroes the latter of who looked at them with surprise and awe.

The two S-Class heroes paid little attention to their fellow gawking heroes as they were met in the middle by Sitch.

“Metal Bat, Tank Top Master I’m glad to see you both on your feet.”

“Sitch” Tank Top Master greeted before turning to the other man.

“This is Sekingar” Sitch introduced “he’ll be acting as commander of the rescue mission.”

“Yeah, yeah” Metal Bat grunted impatiently “are we late? Where is everybody?”

By that he meant the other S-Class heroes.

Sekingar took the dismissal in stride as he spoke “the other S-Class heroes are currently holding a strategy meeting. You two might be able to make it before it ends.”

With that said the two S-Class heroes left Sitch and Sekingar whose attentions were then taken by the arrival of the other cargo copters. The two S-Class heroes made their way through the familiar halls in silence until they came upon the conference room. Opening the door they were met with a sight that was both familiar and oddly surprising.

Moments Before…

The Hero Association staff members who had been on standby to assist the S-Class with whatever they needed (mostly taking food orders from Pig God) had excused themselves from the room a while ago and for good reason. When they first came to this meeting the gathered heroes were all confident in their ability to take down the Monster Association. The main and really only shared worry had been whether or not they would be able to find and save the hostage. Other than that they ever truly factored failure in the overall objective as there wasn’t a single person in the room who felt threatened by the monsters they would face.

At least that was the case until now.

“That’s the last of them” Child Emperor finished with a grim expression.

No one really acknowledged his words as each hero present were wrapped in their own thoughts. Child Emperor had just finished his presentation on the Monster Association executive members, potential executive members and leadership all of whom were comprised of actual and potential Dragon level monsters. With each monster presented the overall countenance of the room became just a bit dourer as they became aware of what exactly the Monster Association had in store for them.

There was not a hero in the room who wasn’t affected. From the usually jovially optimistic Darkshine to the neutrally calculating Flashy Flashy, from the arrogant Tatsumaki to even the indifferent Saitama everyone was deeply considering the information that was presented to them. As a result the tension in the room was so heavy one could cut it with a knife. The only one who wasn’t affected was Child Emperor and only by virtue of being privy to the information already.

He already had time to ruminate on the information…after getting through half his candy stash in a stress induced eating frenzy. It actually turned out to be a good thing Tatsumaki forced him to go to sleep because he might have spent all night stressing over this one thing. Child Emperor gave them time to digest but ultimately they were still burning daylight and before he could get everyone’s attention the doors opened revealing two familiar faces.

Metal Bat and Tank Top Master entered the room with the latter muttering “sorry for the intrusion.”

“Metal Bat? Tank Top Master?” exclaimed Child Emperor.

“Heard you two got done in by the Hero Hunter” Atomic Samurai.

“We did” Tank Top Master admitted with a frown but otherwise seemed unbothered.

Before anymore could be said Metal Bat yelled out “what the hell is he doing here!?”

The hero eyed Amai Mask who had so far been lost in thought as he leaned forward with his elbows on the table and fingers entwined and, unbeknownst to the others, gripped so tightly it subtly shook. Whatever had occupied the top ranked A-Class hero’s mind he set it aside for the time being to glance at the newly arrived Metal Bat.

“Oh you’re here” his eyes drifted to the other new arrival who had taken the empty seat next to him “and you too.”

“Oi, answer the question. What are you doing here? And what are you doing in my seat?”

“Mr. Amai Mask is here to-” Child Emperor began only to be cut off by the man himself.

“I am here to lead this rescue mission” Amai Mask spoke as he slowly stood up. The idol hero being slightly taller than the delinquent hero looked down at him.

‘And here we go’ Child Emperor sighed as Amai Mask’s declaration drew reactions from most of the gathered and none of them were positive.

“Huuh?” Metal Bat gave a drawn out thuggish grunt as he regarded the man.

Flashy Flash raised an unimpressed eyebrow while the others were either indifferent or unwilling to show or voice their discontent with that.

“Excuse you?” Tatsumaki glared “the only reason why we’re even tolerating your presence is because you’d kick up a fuss with the executives who’re going to be annoying after this.”

Tatsumaki pretty much nailed the hammer right on the head of Child Emperor’s thoughts. It’s a shame that she was summarily ignored as Amai Mask turned to Child Emperor the decided upon leader of the assault team.

“Is there a problem?

“Us under your command? I didn’t know being a comedian was one of your talents” Zombieman blew out a cloud of smoke “if it’s the credit you want then you can have mine so long as you follow Child Emperor’s orders. We’re about to face the greatest threat to the world we’ve ever seen so we can’t afford to be bogged down by petty dissention.”

Amai Mask glared at him for a moment “I’ve always wondered something about you Zombieman, why can’t you die?”

“…” the undying hero remained silent not even deigning to acknowledge the question.

Turning fully away from the still fuming Metal Bat he brought his full attention to the other S-Class hero “you were accepted into the S-Class based purely on your combat ability but you rarely ever use it. Most of your time is spent on mundane investigations and frequent enquiries into the underworld. You seem to have a specific obsession with the House Of Evolution and its leader Dr. Genus yet when you finally encounter him he somehow slipped away. I find that to be highly suspicious. Can we really consider you an ally?”

“Hey stop provoking him” Darkshine chastised with a frown “we’re all on the same side here.”

Amai Mask seemingly ignored Darkshine as his glare lingered on Zombieman for a bit “it is clear to me that none of you have the experience” his sharp golden eyes turned to Child Emperor who couldn’t help but cringe slightly, his own insecurities about his leadership position flashing through his mind “or the intelligence to lead this mission” his gaze went back to Metal Bat.

At the insult levied against him an angry vein formed on Metal Bat’s forehead as his hand gripped his namesake weapon tightly.

“Someone needs to remind this pretty boy who he’s messing with here.”

“I believe I have a pretty good idea of who I’m dealing with” Amai Mask replied sharply and the bloodlust wafting off him reached a crescendo “you’re the weakling who not only failed to protect Miss Nova but also got defeated by the Hero Hunter. If anyone’s presence needs to be questioned here it’s yours.”

That right there seemed to be the last straw as Metal Bat tensed, his weapon shifted, the tension was laid on thick enough to be a metaphorical smog and even Amai Mask himself shifted his weight ready to intercept an attack.

“Oi, that’s enough! We don’t have time for this right now” Atomic Samurai interrupted sternly.

“Metal Bat” the hero turned to Silver Fang who continued “master yourself and take a seat.”

His words seem to actually have an effect as whatever action the delinquent hero was about to take never came and in a show of surprising restraint he took in a calming breath closing his eyes as he did. Once he opened them again Amai Mask had to blink at the sheer indifference within them.

“You ain’t worth it.”

He then took his seat (which happened to be the one Amai Mask had previously occupied) and kicked his feet up on the table. Metal Bat no longer even acknowledged the A-Class hero’s presence as he scowled staring at nothing in particular while his thoughts remained a mystery to even the most astute observer.

‘This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to avoid.’

That being Amai mask making a fuss by throwing his nonexistent weight around.

“N-now Mr. Amai Mask” Child Emperor began carefully yet sternly “as much as we…appreciate your willingness to accompany us on this assault I think your presence in the Monster Association HQ would hinder us in our mission.”

“Excuse me?” the idol hero spoke with an edge.

“What are you stupid and deaf?” Tatsumaki chimed in with a bored yet annoyed expression “you’re a pain in the ass, nobody likes you and none of us wants to babysit you while we’re doing the mission.”

Again Tatsumaki was ignored by Amai Mask who leveled his gaze at Child Emperor “I understand that you’re the tactician Child Emperor but there is nothing wrong with utilizing my leadership skills here.”

For his part Child Emperor took the lollipop out of his mouth to address his fellow hero with all the seriousness the situation is due.

“I know you mean well Mr. Amai Mask but I think those leadership skills would best be served topside with the support heroes.”

The idol hero’s brows furrowed in consternation at the child’s words as he gave his own answer “I will not be kept away from this mission.”

“Then prove it.”

Amai Mask and everyone else turned to Flashy Flash “what was that?”

“You keep harping on about how you are at the level of S-Class and even go so far as to think you can lead us. Prove to us that you can actually keep up before expecting us to follow your lead.”

“…I will gladly do that” Amai Mask answered and some veins can visibly be seen sprouting from under the collar of his shirt “are you volunteering?”

“…” Flashy Flash said nothing and did nothing as he responded to Amai Mask’s bloodlust with his own.

“So hey…”

The two words spoken casually with a bored tone cut through the tension like hot knife through butter startling everyone present. Even the heroes whose senses are always on high alert felt some degree of startling as they realized what everyone else has come to realize. Somehow everyone present to some degree has forgotten that One-Punch Man was even present.

It wasn’t the first time that this has happened. For someone who is revered as the strongest man in the world Saitama has the presence of a generic background character most of the time. If not for the fact that the Hero Association has gone out of their way to market him heavily along with the other S-Class thus making his appearance and especially his bald head iconic then people would never believe him to even be a pro hero let alone n the S-Class and certainly not the strongest man in the world.

Even his fellow S-Class found that aspect of him to be uncanny. Despite all of their eccentricities there remains an undisputed fact that in this group of the most elite heroes in the association all of them have a presence. Even Child Emperor the most naturally inconspicuous hero amongst them had a certain aura about him that people would immediately pick up on after spending time in his presence.

The same cannot be said for One-Punch Man whose presence seems to meld into the background like wall paint. That by no means implies he cannot make his presence known when the fancy strikes him.

Such as right now…

“We’ve been here for a while now” the man continued “can we wrap this up and get going already?”

The sentiment was shared by everyone in the room though for his part Amai Mask found himself staring at One-Punch Man. Amai Mask had a very…let’s say complicated relationship with the bald man. The sequence of events that would lead him to first encountering One-Punch Man started the year when he first joined the Hero Association. Unlike the rest he had bigger ambitions than to just be another hero, he wanted a say in the operations as well. To that end along with doing all the typical hero work he also leveraged his then budding idol career in talks with the executives to help appeal to a larger audience and secure more funds through donations.

His work not only propelled him up the rankings but also secured him an advisory role when it came to managing and especially marketing the heroes themselves. Through his vision the Hero Association was able to successfully market their heroes to the public. He managed to market most of the reticent S-Class to varying success since some of them fought him seemingly every step of the way. The thing about it was that all of the other S-Class heroes had something of note that he could use to appeal to a target demographic.

Darkshine and Tank Top Master are big figures in the body builder community.

The same can be said for Silver Fang and Atomic Samurai in the martial arts community.

Watchdog Man is a mascot hero for kids.

Child Emperor is the embodiment of every kid’s greatest dream of being hero.

Metal Knight provides weaponry for the Hero Association and military to protect the public and along with Drive Knight has a merchandise potential for being an android and cyborg respectfully.

Flashy Flash practically shares the same fanbase as Amai Mask for being a brooding pretty boy and ninja.

Tatsumaki has a dedicated fan club with some members who have particular tastes.

Puri Puri Prisoner has the LGBT appeal for being the only openly gay S-Class hero.

Metal Bat has the Bancho appeal.

Blast is already the most prolific hero in the world whose legend eclipses all others.

Hell even Pig God has the appeal of the plus size community.

Then there was One-Punch Man who was far from the man he is today. Back then he actually had hair and didn’t wear a costume, rather he fought crime in a plain tracksuit and the less said about his personality the better. In short the man was a marketing nightmare for Amai Mask who up until then was able to use an angle with the other S-Class to successfully market them.

One-Punch Man did not have anything that Amai Mask could use to successfully market him to the public. For all intents One-Punch Man was just a regular guy in a tracksuit which would be fine for lower class heroes but certainly not for the S-Class. In any case Amai Mask ended up confronting him about it and urged him to make a change that would at least make him stand out. He didn’t think the conversation went anywhere until a few days later when the man shaved his head and started wearing that yellow jumpsuit. Going from a ‘salary man in a tracksuit’ to a ‘bald man in a yellow jumpsuit’ was jarring and definitely made him stand out but not in the good way.

Amai Mask remembered thinking the suit itself was the most god awful thing he’s ever seen, a true crime against fashion. So offended he was with it that he ended up confronting One-Punch Man yet again and dropped any pretense civility. A lot of things were said, most of it in anger but One-Punch Man didn’t seem to care about his opinion or the opinion of the executives. It wasn’t necessarily anything new to Amai Mask when dealing with the S-Class at that point but something about the bald man rubbed him the wrong way.

He would make several more attempts at changing the man each failing more miserably than the last. Amai Mask was eventually at his wits end with One-Punch man and even once thought to petition him to get bumped off the S-Class roster. That all changed however when a giant cicada monster attacked the city he happened to be in. None of the other S-Class heroes were available and Amai Mask thought he would have had to do something drastic to stop it.

Then out of nowhere One-Punch Man swooped in and destroyed the monster in a single blow. That was the first time he had ever witnessed him in action. It’s one thing to read reports or see a low resolution video of his feats but nothing compared to actually seeing it. From that day forward Amai Mask paid closer attention to how the man operated and after several weeks came to a conclusion. One-Punch Man embodied everything that is both right and wrong with heroes by Amai Mask’s standards.

On the one hand Amai Mask found his strength to be perfection and his conviction in his duties as a hero to be exemplary beyond any of the other S-Class. When he is given a task or mission One-Punch Man does not hesitate, does not question, does not banter or dally he simply does.

There is a caveat however in that while his personal strength and conviction as a hero are solid this perfection is ultimately marred by the man’s everything else. Outside of his incredible strength One-Punch Man has the dullest most uninspired personality of any hero Amai Mask had ever met which is truly saying something. How someone can be toted as the strongest man in the world and come off so boring as a person truly baffles him.

Still his lackadaisical attitude is betrayed by his execution of his duties which has only grown more efficient as time ent by. Even his personality eventually saw a shift and in practically no time at all since he initially saw him in action One-Punch Man would become the third individual Amai Mask considered being the ideal when it came to being a hero. With this newfound perspective he was able to retool his marketing campaign to focus more on the hero’s actions as opposed to his personality.

It didn’t take long after for One-Punch to become a legendary figure on par with the likes of Blast. Amai Mask kept a special eye on One-Punch Man the entire time following his exploits very closely and the more he did the more he couldn’t help but respect him. He wasn’t the only one either as the moment he spoke Amai Mask could see all present perk up to cast their undivided attention on him. Even Tatsumaki the most obstinate and arrogant hero present couldn’t help but turn her head and listen to the man as he spoke.

It was obvious to him that One-Punch Man’s words and opinion held weight which was why Amai Mask went a different route

“Saitama” he said knowing the man preferred to be addressed by his given name.

“Yeah?”

“Surely someone of your esteem would see the benefit of having someone with actual leadership experience leading this assault right?”

“I guess?” he edged unsure.

“Then you will agree that I should be the one to do it.”

There were a lot of scowls directed his way at that but Amai Mask ignored them. They didn’t matter, all that matters was One-Punch Man’s opinion.

Unfortunately for the Idol hero he would be disappointed by the bald man’s answer “eh not really, besides Child Emperor is the leader.”

Amai Mask bristled but did not give up so easily “Child Emperor doesn’t have the experience.”

“He’ll figure it out, he’s a genius and an S-Class like the rest of us…well mostly I guess” he added looking at the none S-Class heroes in the room including Amai Mask himself.

“But…” Amai Mask added only to trail off when One-Punch looked to Child Emperor himself

“Child Emperor will do fine, I trust him.”

In response Child Emperor actually sputtered “t-thank you One-Punch Man…sir” he added only to cringe in embarrassment at acting like the child he is.

“I see” Amai Mask said graciously though it was clear for the most observant to see the disappointment in his eyes which became resolute a moment later as he added “but I will be accompanying you into the base during the assault” Amai Mask added

“Sure why not” One-Punch Man shrugged.

“Are you freaking kidding me!?” Tatsumaki yelled and Metal Bat looked in agreement.

“He’s just some A-Class idol hero wannabe” the delinquent hero added.

“I don’t see what the problem is” Saitama said honestly “isn’t it better to have more of us in there so we can find hostage faster?”

“And if he gets himself killed?” Tatsumaki asked.

“It’ll be fine, he looks like he can handle himself” Saitama said after a brief look at Amai Mask who nodded gratefully at the bald hero.

“Ugh” Tatsumaki threw her hands “whatever but when you get in over your head don’t go expecting me to rescue you.”

And with that said Child Emperor finally resumed the meeting to go over the last item on the agenda for this meeting, the actual infiltration.

~O~

Every martial artist worth his training knew the benefits of a good rest especially before a huge battle. Suiryu was no different of course however even if logic dictates that he rest for the night sleep eluded him. The lack of sleep wasn’t a particular problem and wouldn’t really affect his combat effectiveness but it spoke volumes of how he felt about the current situation. Through pressures brought on by his own sibling as well as his martial pride he took up Tomoro’s offer to aid them in infiltrating the Monster Association headquarters.

A place where it was all but confirmed housed monsters that are on par with or even surpass Gouketsu. The mere thought of that monster was enough to send a spike of fear down Suiryu’s spine. He did not show this fear however, if only to soothe his pride and keep a bit of integrity in the face of his sister.

“You’re worried aren’t you?”

Well so much for that.

He sighed “that obvious?”

“Pretty obvious yeah” Suiko said with a shrug.

‘Why do I even bother?’

“Heh, glad I’m not the only one nervous here” Suiko once again cut through his thoughts and he glanced at her “

“You’re nervous?”

“Of course I am!” Suiko exclaimed and for the first time he could see the anxiousness both on her face and in her body language.

‘How did I miss that?’

Suiko being able to read him like a book wasn’t an exclusive skill between the two of them. They’ve known each other all their lives and have been trained in high level martial arts for most of that time. Of course they would be able to pick up on each other’s emotional state which makes it all the more upsetting to him. So worried he was about what ifs that he failed to pick up on his sister’s own anxiousness.

‘I bet seeing me like this isn’t doing her any favors’

“Hey it’s going to be alright, if nothing else I’m sure Master Sazaki will protect us.”

Suiko scowled at him though the expression didn’t have any heat “I hate that you’re in the same boat as me now. I wanted to complain and nag you about how unfair it is that you’re a genius and stronger than me.”

Ah, so the regular sibling banter they used to have when paired together.

“Yeah I hate it too.”

He wished he could be that fearless and confident man who could stare men and monsters in the face and laugh at their attempts to fight him. The thought was only fleeting however as if he was being honest he wouldn’t actually want to be that person again if given the chance. Fearless and confident he may have been but he was also arrogant and ignorant something he didn’t need in the upcoming battle.

The siblings arrived at the apartment and immediately noticed that all the windows were blown out which put the duo somewhat on edge. With a silent glance at each other the two ascended to the second floor to the room where the two had that gathering the night before. Suiryu knocked on the door only to not receive the answer after which he opened it with an apology. He needn’t bothered since the apartment was completely barren of any people, furniture or appliance.

“They’re not here.”

The two siblings turned to see the monster from last night leaning against the doorframe of the room next to the one they stood at.

“Where are they?” Suiko questioned.

“One-Punch Man went the Hero Association and Tomoro is carrying the moving truck to storage.”

“Wait they actually went with the carrying the truck thing?”

“…yes” the monster drawled “Tomoro said he’ll be here soon so you can wait around I suppose.”

She went to go back inside when Suiryu called out “hey.”

Pausing at the door her pale red eyes turned to him with an annoyance that was reflected in her voice “what?”

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Suiryu, this is my sister Suiko” he introduced earning an even deeper furrow of her brow.

Suiryu then yelped as Suiko pulled on his ear and whisper hissed “what are you doing!?”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s a monster?”

“So?”

“Your sister has a point” said monster spoke now no longer halfway through the door but standing out in the hallway proper “I am a monster so what exactly are you hoping to gain by making nice with me?”

Suddenly Suiko pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned out “please tell me you’re not trying to flirt with her.”

That got a quirk of her eyebrow from the monster woman and her countenance turned to sardonic amusement as the man sputtered in disbelief.

“You know I’ve always known there were some humans who are actually into that sort of thing but I figured them to be a certain kind.”

“Alright that’s enough!” Suiryu yelled with a tic mark before he turned to his sibling “first off I wasn’t trying to flirt with her. Why would you even think that?”

In response Suiko gave an exaggerated shrug along with a carefree smile that was eerily reminiscent of himself “eh, it seemed like something you would do.”

“Well it’s not!”

“And here I was feeling flattered” the two siblings turned to the monster girl who adopted a faux expression of hurt “but now you’ve gone and hurt my feelings.”

Then her expression abruptly changed into something sultry before she adopted a provocative pose that even in her conservative dress and shirt managed to emphasize her figure and the fact that the top three buttons of her dress shirt were undone.

“What’s the matter? Don’t you think I’m pretty~?” she asked in a husky tone while fluttering her eyes at him.

Both Suiryu and Suiko could only look at the shameless display in shock with the latter shaking off her surprise first. Blinking back from that mini stupor she turned to her older sibling who continued to stare and her brows furrowed.

“You can’t be serious, I was kidding!” she exclaimed.

Far from what his staring may initially imply Suiryu wasn’t really admiring Do-S. Maybe because not only does she look human enough but was also aiding them in taking down the Monster Association and didn’t act like any monster he’s ever met (though such encounters weren’t many to begin with) that in a strange twist actually took the question posed a little seriously than he ought to have.

‘Just fix her eyes, get rid of the mask and that heart emblem on her forehead and she would look…’

His thoughts on the matter culminated in a simple “huh.”

Do-S for her part had grown just a bit annoyed and weary that her tactic to throw them off for her own amusement hadn’t worked. She’d rather break out her whips but she wouldn’t dare assault two people who Tomoro seemed to have great interest in. With the confrontation to come and her place in the conflict looming over her head creating more pressure and increasing her stress she could only resort to messing with a pair of humans for her own amusement.

Except her attempt had fallen flat or so she thought when the only response she could get from the man was a thoughtful look and a simple grunt as an answer.

Then he surprised her with his next words “now that I think about it, yeah.”

Caught off guard from her own thoughts and the eclipse of time she could only blink “what?”

“I said yes, I think you’re pretty.”

“Seriously?”

“I’d go so far as to call you beautiful” he added with emphasis.

His sister’s words of disbelief was barely out of her mouth before Do-S ripped off her face mask exposing her wide mouth with crack-like abrasions around the corners. The corners of her lips stretched eerily in a too wide slasher smile that exposed her numerous shark-like teeth.

“Do you think I’m pretty now?”

Suiko startled a bit at the display if only due to how abrupt it was but Suiryu remained unfazed as he answered “if you run at me with a pair of scissors I will put you down.”

Do-S could only look at the man with an expression that was one part befuddlement as she uttered a single word in response “what?”

Suiko looked just as perplexed “what are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember that one urban legend?”

It took a moment however Suiko did eventually realize what he was talking about before her gaze snapped to Do-S and she let out a guffaw “oh my God she really is like that urban legend!”

“Right?” Suiryu grinned.

Do-S scowled as the pair of siblings started laughing. She had no idea why they were laughing as the reference escaped her but that didn’t matter much because all she knew was that they were laughing at her.

“Grr”

In a flash of anger a whip materialized in her right hand the action causing both siblings to put a pause on the jovialities. That was all they managed to do before Do-S swung her whip at the source of her ire.

Heart ♡ Hard ♡ Hit!

Multiple slashes let loose at the pair however to her immense shock however Suiryu easily and deftly caught the whip before it could hit Suiko. Or rather before it could hit where Suiko had previously been since the girl had already dodged before it even could have landed properly. The girl looked as if she was gearing up for an attack only to be barred by her brother who kept his steely gaze upon her.

This broke the monster out of her enraged state as she stared wide eyed at the two ‘w-what?’

Attempting to pull the whip out of his grasp became a lesson in futility as Suiryu’s hand was like an immovable object that did not budge a single bit.

‘How is he so strong? He’s not even a…hero…’ her mind trailed off.

That’s when the pressure hit on her instincts even as clarity reached her mind. She remembered that these two aren’t just two random humans. They were invited by Tomoro Sazaki to take part in a strategy meeting, were also very familiar with Silver Fang and if her memory serves Suiryu was present when Tomoro killed Gouketsu. But most importantly she remembered Tomoro half handedly mention that Suiryu was easily an S-Class level fighter.

Do-S is a monster who knew her limits and she knew for a fact that she could not take on any of the S-Class in a straight up fight. And here she was attacking someone who is said to be at that level and judging by look of it things that allegation appears to hold some truth to it. With that thought in mind self preservation kicked in but before Do-S could let go of her whip and plead for her life she was thankfully spared the indignity.

“I’m glad to see you all getting along with each other” drawled a familiar voice.

All three jumped at the voice and turned to find Tomoro Sazaki standing behind Do-S leaning against doorframe of his former room.

“Master Sazaki” Suiko greeted with Suiryu following along discarding the hip in his hand.

Do-S pulled her weapon back with a simple flick of her wrist “h-how long have you been standing there?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

‘Now I’m very worried.’

“By the way, I also think you’re pretty.”

“Pfft!” Suiko snickered in her hand.

Do-S flushed but it was a genuine tossup as to whether it was in anger or embarrassment.

“You…” she started glaring at him but Tomoro was unsurprisingly unaffected by her ire so with a frustrated shriek the monster stomped into her own room and slammed the door shut with unnecessary force leaving the three alone.

After a moment Suiko broke the silence “so…what’s your relationship with her?”

Tomoro looked to the young martial artists then to the door Do-S disappeared behind and ultimately shook his head.

“That…” he paused shaking his head “I don’t even know anymore.”

~O~

At this point the entire Monster Association Base was aware that there was an intruder. What they were still unaware of is exactly who that intruder was on account of anyone who came across said intruder ended up dead. Another thing they were aware of was that said intruder came across Overgrown Rover. That particular battle could be felt by a large percentage of the Monster Association due to its location being the general communal area of the sprawling network.

When things went quiet everyone assumed Rover had taken care of the intruder however it didn’t take too long for an even bigger commotion to get started. This time it came from the Monster King’s throne room which also acted as a gathering point for meetings. Naturally a few monsters got curious as to what was happening, they were never heard from again as all paths leading to the area were completely blocked off. This only seemed to substantiate the rumors that the Monster King was fighting someone.

At the moment the identity of Lord Orochi’s opponent is a choice between: the intruder from earlier who would have somehow gotten away from Rover, a Cadre looking to challenge him for the title of monster king or a new prospect that needed to be put in their place. In any case the fact that anyone would even think to pick a fight with the monster king spoke of two things.

Either this person was a fool or actually a very powerful monster.

~O~

*Crash*

Garou smashed into the wall adding another crater however he was unfazed by this and springboard leapt himself to the ground just as a concentrated beam of fire engulfed his previous position. He didn’t stop to take a breather, there was no time for that and he hardly needed it anymore and instead started running. He barely began to get going before he was intercepted by several horn tendrils. They had gotten faster and more numerous compared to when they first started.

Garou ran up the side of the walls deftly outmaneuvering the omnidirectional horn spears ultimately gaining even more speed until he shot himself towards the self proclaimed king of monsters with his fist cocked back. The leader of the Monster Association met his attack with one in kind. When their fists met a shockwave like a crack of thunder resounded shaking the room.

*BOOM*

Despite not being fazed by the attack Orochi’s body was pushed back by the force of Garou’s attack his massive frame sinking into a crater.

“HRM?”

Garou gave a shark-like grin, an apt comparison considering he just smelled blood in the water.

Meanwhile on the sidelines Gyoro Gyoro’s eyes widened in utter shock “Lord Orochi was moved!?”

Having been spectating the battle with rapt attention this wasn’t the first time that the two have clashed. For reasons she could only assume to be psychological warfare Orochi had assumed and maintained a humanoid form. Not only that but he also did not use most of his unique monster abilities save for his horn ability and only metamorphosed his arms into dragons. Both these abilities he uses for mid to long range attacks. In lieu of not using his monster abilities Orochi has been fighting using mostly martial arts.

One would think that with the size disparity between them the battle would have favored Garou yet despite the deliberate handicap he put himself in Orochi was not at all losing this battle, he was winning. Gyoro Gyoro could tell immediately that Garou has never fought or even conceived that he would ever face another genius martial artist of the same caliber as himself. Gyoro Gyoro thought the young man would, after exhausting all his techniques and tricks, would succumb to despair knowing that he is outclassed in every way after which Orochi would deliver the coup de grace.

Gyoro Gyoro had little doubt Orochi thought the same thing and at first things seemed to have been going that way. Once again the Monster Association’s tactician will give the boy credit, he is a genius, a creative one and very tenacious. Unfortunately for him even discounting the fact that Orochi is also martial arts genius the monster king is also just naturally more powerful than him. Still the psychic watched on, content in knowing that with every show of his creativity and tenaciousness Orochi will also benefit and grow even stronger through observation alone.

Things started to go awry however when instead of slowing down Garou only seemed to speed up. It wasn’t so much desperation than it was…progression. That’s when Gyoro Gyoro realized she underestimated the boy yet again on several counts. The first was the belief that Orochi would be the only one to benefit from this exchange for while the monster king used Garou as fodder the same could be said for Garou using Orochi as fodder for his own growth.

Earlier Gyoro Gyoro seeing as Garou could regenerate through consumption blocked off the path to the arena so no more monsters would wander in. Despite the absence of material however Garou’s injuries continued to regenerate and the rate only increased with time. The only reason why he wasn’t fully hale was due to how negligible his healing factor is and the fact that Orochi were putting it through its paces with mounting inflicted injuries.

‘He’s continued to evolve even as he fought.’

Psykos is a firm believer that using carefully applied physical trauma will always bear fruit when it came to monsterfication. Yet during her research she has never seen such dynamic continuous change happen in the middle of a battle.

Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist!

WATER STREAM ROCK SMASHING FIST!

Then as the two of them resumed their battle using a peculiar martial art he knew to have been created by Silver Fang Gyoro Gyoro could not help but feel excitement.

‘He’s actually doing it.’

After so many exchanges Garou was finally started to gain traction against Orochi even if said traction was negligible and ultimately didn’t matter due to Orochi holding back most of his power it still spoke volumes that Garou was able to come so far after mere partial transformation.

‘And yet, it is not enough’ he thought with a sigh of disappointment as Garou once again lost the exchange.

Not only was Garou currently nowhere strong enough for Orochi to take him serious but even at his current rate of growth he won’t be for quite some time. And unfortunately for him they were currently on a timetable so this needed to be wrapped up.

So Gyoro Gyoro spoke up loudly “Lord Orochi I’m afraid we still need to prepare for the arrival of the heroes so would you kindly finish this up?”

Orochi gave no indication or acknowledgement that he even heard him seeing as how Garou had resorted to hit and run pinball tactics. The half monster was practically a frenzied blur of movement even he could hardly keep up with yet Orochi kept pace easily whilst countering every attempt made at hitting him. Suddenly without warning Orochi’s hand moved, swatting Garou out of the air like a gnat.

His attempt at recovering became stymied by a literal horde of serpentine dragons. Now that Orochi was no longer holding back the dragons managed to successfully swarm Garou from all sides. The half monster tried his hardest to defend and deflect before giving up altogether to attempt to charge his way through the swarm. Before he could however the serpents added fire blasts to burn him even as they incapacitated him.

“RAAH!”

With beastial roar Garou managed to break free and charge only to be hit with all of Orochi’s horns and slammed back into the wall. Even with one horn speared through both hands, legs and two in his chest pinning him to the wall Garou still struggled. While still pinning him down Orochi’s humanoid mouth opened transforming his head and a concentrated blast of fire erupted bathing the half monster in a devastating blast of fire and destruction.

By the end of it there was veritable tunnel in the stone wall which was made with special reinforced material.

“I think you overdid it Lord Orochi” Gyoro Gyoro couldn’t help but comment as he plodded forward toward the hole.

Orochi merely shifting back to the humanoid shape then watched on silently as Gyoro Gyoro used his psychic power to remove the debris and unearthed the blackened, unmoving but still alive body of Garou. As he did he couldn’t help but go over the entire battle and marvel at the fact that he was not only able to last as long as he did against Orochi but that he did so under an incomplete monster transformation.

Incomplete not in the sense that he wasn’t physically a monster yet because he was though Gyoro Gyoro had the feeling that his physical transformation can be furthered yet. No the incompleteness actually stems from his emotions and instincts. For all that Garou has an incredible lust for battle and desire to dominate those strictly speaking are not exclusively traits of a monster.

‘You’re still clinging to your humanity aren’t you?’ Gyoro Gyoro thought.

In a way he could understand why that seems to be case, after all for a human to willingly take on the epithet of monster and challenge the Hero Association they would need strong conviction. And with Garou his aims are beyond just defeating the Hero Association, beyond merely ruling as a monster king, he wanted to be a symbol of fear.

“Absolute Evil huh?” he muttered before chuckling to himself “sounds doable.”

‘Of course I’ll have to thoroughly brainwash him but given his resilience thus far I won’t have enough time before the hero Association arrives.’

Luckily they have a powerful telepath in their employ who is a deft hand at brainwashing.

~O~

Sitch couldn’t help but marvel at the turnout. Just this morning they were understaffed and desperate to find heroes to send on a mission that was likely suicide should anything go wrong. Now they had a not insignificant chunk of the A-Class back along with other heroes. It wasn’t enough in Sitch’s opinion still but at least they would be able to send better equipped heroes. Unfortunately this did bring up a problem in that the plan didn’t really account for a large fighting force on their part.

A very simplified version of the plan was to just send in the S-Class heroes and seal all entrances save for one. After they find and rescue the hostage they will proceed to destroy the Monster Association from within. It’s a plan that didn’t need a large fighting force but a small tactical one, basically quality over quantity.

Explaining this to the gathered heroes caused some commotion as most of them were expecting to storm the base alongside the S-Class. To add fuel to the fire some of the heroes already picked for the team were swapped out for some of the new arrivals. Luckily before things could reach a boiling point Sekingar managed to calmly has out a compromise with the heroes that would be left behind. They will be kept in reserve to patrol the vicinity just outside the abandoned town in groups looking for any stragglers or just in case the support team needed reinforcements.

This seemed to mollify the lot of them though Sitch himself can’t say that a scenario like that would happen. Tatsumaki was very insistent that she destroyed the base in its entirety along with that entire abandoned section after Solaria is rescued. The executives were quick to agree and it wasn’t wholly due to how insistent the esper was. Sitch himself would have liked to send people into the base to see if they could gather some kind of information on the inner workings of the Monster Association.

This is the first instance in recorded history of various monsters working together as an organized group especially on such a scale. And with the Monster Association operating on such a scale there is bound to be a cache data down there somewhere. The reason for this became apparent to Sitch as he as forwarded the highlights of the S-Class meetings. Turns out the Monster Association wasn’t working alone and has managed to forge relationships with several criminal organizations including the now defunct House Of Evolution, Tsukuyomi and The Organization.

“We’re ready to go sir” one of the staff members called out causing Sekingar and Sitch to pause reading the tablets.

“This is it” Sekingar noted with a tone of finality.

“Godspeed Sekingar.”

“Sir” he acknowledged with a stiff nod and marched out to the cargo chopper.

Sitch watched them take off along with the heroes who were left behind.

‘I hope this works.’

Meanwhile with the restored heroes the Blizzard Group executives had been the only A-Class heroes not to make a fuss about not being chosen to accompany the strike force. For once even Needle Star was in agreement that what they were about to do was more important than gaining any kind of points with the top brass. It wasn’t an easy thing to essentially sit out on such an opportunity and they were questioned by their subordinates on why they didn’t at least try to get on that strike force.

Glasses has elected to give a reasonably enough answer though they were more surprised that Needle Star kept quiet. Then there was the moment Tatsumaki entered the room and it was all some of their members could take not say or do something, anything. Tatsumaki herself didn’t seem to have any issues with them, after all she only glanced at them only once and she was just as dismissive of their presence as she was with almost everyone present. This was a good thing in Glasses’ opinion as the less interaction between them the less Tatsumaki will figure out their plans.

As they watched the helicopters leave he turned to Eyelashes who gave a nod of confirmation.

“Make the call.”

~To Be Continued~

Author’s Notes: As we draw closer to the inevitable storm that is the Monster Association Arc I find myself having to put serious consideration on the various individual moving parts because for those of you who don’t know this is arc where Murata went on a redraw spree. Why does this matter? I have downloaded and kept the original draws long before this happened and kept them as a reference. I didn’t even know about the redraws until literal weeks since I published the first chapter of this story.

From there it’s been a mad dash to see what he’s changed and compare notes. Safe to say that now I have two copies of the same chapters with vastly different outcomes. I’ve decided to reflect my predicament onto Tomoro. So he’s read the original draws for the manga and knows nothing about the redraws which happened some time after he died. So he’s working off faulty/incomplete information in an already very divergent timeline.

So this is all to say bear with me these next couple of chapters because it’s going to be a straight up rollercoaster ride once the battles start. One more chapter to go where I put the final pieces on the board before that though and if you want to read it early check out my Patreon