Chapter 3: Hunter Vs Hero

"Now, where to look…" Garou mumbled to himself while looking at the map the boy gave him.

He now stood in Dagoba downtown still in search for a territory to mark. However, most of the isolated places there might be the slums and the dark-alleys. Still, Garou prefers the outdoors, not an odorous underground room with little to no light.

Despite taking the mantle of a monster, Garou was still a martial artist to his core. A quiet place free of distractions outdoors was preferable above all else, where he can focus all his energies on his goal in obtaining great power that lies on the other side.

As for other locations, Hosu might count as well. The place was quiet, the population not that high, and bore potential positions that suit his needs. Maybe he should hunt the other heroes there just for fun this time, to alleviate his boredom with their pain and suffering.

Something amusing like the time he forced a four-armed hero to punch himself with his own fist was preferable as well. Regardless, Garou didn't have any plans here. He was in a world not his own after all.

"I wonder if there's a place in Hosu I can use. Hmmm, should I ask the kid again?" Assuming Ghin would be more than willing to help aid him. Garou did hunt a lot of heroes ever since they departed.

As Garou murmured to himself, he took a turn to the nearest alley at his right. A presence was hunting him, one moving faster than the ilk he encountered so far. He had not a clue on their identity, but he seemed promising as he waited with his back facing the alley's exit.

A towering figure stood between the walls in complimenting symmetry, interposing the light shining into the darkness of the alley - posing with both knuckles resting his hips with his iconic smile flashing even past the absence of light.

"Your reign of terror ends here, Villain! Why? Because I am here! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" A jolly laughed followed after his iconic catchphrase.

Turning around, Garou saw the top of his list greeting his sight. He almost gawped at the muscular figure.

"Huh. What are the chances?" The encounter was almost too good to be genuine or coincidence.

Nevertheless, he greeted the Number One hero with his own smirk, one warped with belligerent anticipation, flashing his whites at the hero in return.

"Your timing is more impeccable than the rumors suggest, All Might."

His excitement almost exploding in his chest barely contained, Garou folded his map as calmly as he could, but his hand was still vibrating with gnawing impatience even when he slipped it in his pocket.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!" All Might laughed in return before his eyes staring firing piercing glares at the Hero Hunter.

"I wouldn't be the Number One Hero if I'm late otherwise, Hero Hunter. For all the victims you maimed, I will ensure your journey to Tartarus with my own hands."

"Hoh? No idea where that is, but it sounds scary~" Garou commented with a mocking octave.

At the end of his sentence, he slipped his backpack off his shoulders and tossed it to the alleyway, throwing them out of future harm's way.

"Indeed. Any last words, Villain?" All Might asked, silently channeling his Quirk under Garou's notice.

"You better not disappoint, Old Man. I assure you that you will suffer a fate worse than the guys I hunted on my debut if you fail my expectations."

This time, All Might's ever-present jolly smile reversed into a scowling frown at the mention of his first victims.

"They will rest well with you behind bars!"

His grin widening at its zenith, Garou entered his martial stance, hunched forward, one foot ahead, and hands clawed as if ready to tear flesh from bone interposingly aligned before Garou like cross-hairs.

All Might stood firm, readying his stance as he scrutinized his foe.

Whatever stance that was, All Might never experience something like it before. The Hero deduced his form as a martial stance using Garou's Tai Chi slippers and baggy pants as his basis, but they might be cosmetic for all All Might knew. Every villain he faced favored Quirks more than basics, but despite this, All Might can sense it - the dark feeling of dread emanating from Garou's figure, an unseen but terrifying force hidden behind the hunter's lithe body under the skin-tight clothes.

Cracking the concrete in his plunge as the wind sharply whipped his skin and hair in his flight, All Might shot off like an iron ball from a cannon.

His fist collided with Garou's figure, but his eyes widened upon seeing Garou's hand interposing his knuckle at that moment. Garou's speed surprised All Might, Garou's significant resistance surprising him even more.

"Ohhhh, tingly! Not bad!" Garou playfully chimed.

"Here! Have some of mine!"

In response, Garou snaked under All Might's guard and leaped, smashing his chin with his rising knee and followed with a mid-air reverse roundhouse kick to his jaw - the force more than enough to stagger the towering hero backward several paces.

A cough and spittle escaping his throat, All Might stared at the Hero Hunter in abject shock that he had been rebuffed, by someone he never met before.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you never fought someone that can fight back?" Garou mocked, his predatory grin growing wider, radiating with confidence ignited by All Might's expression of shock.

The Number One Hero grit his teeth, his lips curled into a severe frown.

"Don't underestimate me, Hero Hunter! Here I come!"

---------

Sitting on the couch facing the television with his legs crossed, Midoriya Izuku watched the footage of the Hero Hunter's activities, jotting notes of his hunts. The news had yet to receive an identity of the Hero Hunter from the police, most likely to contain any form of possible outbreaks of panic.

Midoriya could sympathize with that logic. The Hero Hunter's work was horrifying to the eyes and courage-shattering to the spirit. One must ponder the face of the man capable of defeating so many heroes at once, the identity and mindset behind the moniker.

Now, the reporter was interviewing the Heroes in the hospital, the camera swapping to another news anchor walking through the tranquil white halls of nurses dressed in white and doctors with stethoscopes around their necks. The screen arrived at one particular room, opening the white door to peer inside - revealing the heroes within bandaged and resting in bed.

The female reporter interviewed a few heroes, but they refused to talk about the Hero Hunter, most likely from the newfound trauma deeply carved into their minds. Most of the other heroes declined to share their opinions on the Hero Hunter as well, shaking heads and waving heads denying the reporters of a proper interview on the matter of the Hero Hunter.

All except one.

The Jetpack Hero decided to answer the interview.

"[Finally! Tell us about your experience with the Hero Hunter? His Quirks, his mode of operation? His appearance?]" The female reporter asked before placing the microphone before the unmasked Jetpack Hero.

"[Well… it is hard to describe. I mean, I never fought a villain with a fighting style like his in all my years.]"

"[Fighting style? Can you describe us his Quirk?]" The reporter asked, her armed visibly trembling with anticipation before the camera, her hunger to receive further insight on the infamous Hero Hunter slowly leaking to the surface.

"[I… I don't know. The Hero Hunter is fast enough to escape our sight, strong enough to knock out most of us with just a single hit, and just as durable. I don't know what kind of Quirk can give someone so many unfair abilities, but that's not what sets him apart from the rest. Unlike the others, he has something I never saw in every villain until now.]"

"[Oh? And what would that be?]" The female reporter asked.

Izuku held his breath as he waited for his answer.

"[Skill and discipline. He fights like a martial artist.]" The Jetpack Hero answered, his response stunning the reporter and cameraman into a brief silence.

"[I… see. Care to elaborate?]" The reporter asked, unable to picture his response.

"[When we engaged the Hero Hunter, he knocked out most of the heroes in less and a minute. I was watching everything from above, trying to analyze and predict the Hero Hunter's next move, but I couldn't. He was too fast; I could barely discern some of his movements. When he focused on me, he somehow separated me from my iconic jetpack, then proceeded to beat me with it after emasculating me. From what I could gather, he fought at least with disciplined grace, using moves and stances that we barely see in society nowadays.]"

Izuku stopped scribbling upon hearing his narration. The successor of All Might pictured Garou, an abstract demon masked in shadow facing against all the heroes around him, dismantling them one by one with superior tactics and combat prowess described by the Jetpack Hero. It was not only morbid, but also a compelling thought to entertain in a sense.

"[Ahem. Thank you for your time. I and the rest of Japan hope for you and your fellow heroes' recovery.]"

"[Hahaha, hopefully. I'm just lucky he didn't decide to kill us off there while he's at it. If fortune smiles, I might never face someone like him ever again.]"

Izuku chuckled as the news report ended, transitioning to a commercial now, this time on All Might merch. The sight of All Might sparked a thought. What would happen if All Might faced Garou?

To his unawares, Izuku started scribbling the possibilities, jotting down All Might's strengths and current weaknesses on one side of the page while speculating Garou's power on the other based on the information from the Jetpack Hero. As far as Izuku knew, victory fell in All Might's favor using his track record as evidence, though for now that only counted as long as Garou wasn't aware of All Might's dangerous weak spot; the wound he received from a minacious villain, along with the fact that a time limit now encumbered the Number One Hero.

Little did he know that Garou did not need the knowledge of All Might's weaknesses in the first place - instead, more than gratified with facing All Might in his prime.

---------

Two of the titanic forces battled across Dagoba, shifting from roof to roof as they exchanged fists and blood. With gritted teeth, All Might pour his all into their exchange, but most of the time Garou would either deflect his fists or bypass his attacks with excellent maneuvering evasion and steal two direct counters from All Might in either process.

All Might underestimated the new Hero Hunter. He was not just confident; he was formidable. Garou was skilled. Racking his brain, All Might furiously scry for Garou's weaknesses during their duel, but, no matter what, he could not conjure the solution to Garou's defeat.

Whatever All Might throws, Garou adapted and punished him twofold for every attempt.

"Florida Smash!"

But 'surrender' was never in All Might's dictionary. Eyes glinting with heroic spirit, All Might channeled all the power he could muster into his uppercut. The Hero Hunter instantly lifted his guard, crossed arms interposing All Might's attack. However, the moment it collided, it explosively broke through his guard and rammed from under his chin - the force like tephra launched fired by a volcanic eruption.

Catapulted from the earth, Garou soared in an arc, droplets of blood trailing from his lips. If Garou ever wondered what it felt like to be a cannon or bullet shot from the barrel, he was feeling it right now. Not only that, Garou could see the clouds flying past him from the corner of his vision. The Number One Hero punched Garou so hard that he achieved an altitude only reserved for human-made aircraft or certain monsters with wings. He was soaring high hundreds, maybe thousands, of meters high in the air, lobbed into an arc with his landing point in the hands of God to decide.

And God marked a familiar spot for Garou, the front of Dagoba Beach as he landed like a meteor falling from the heavens, leaving a sizeable Garou-shaped hole in the crater he left in his wake.

Landing near Garou's crater, the hero locked his gaze at the Garou-shaped hole - the hole even bearing the shape of his unique hairstyle as well.

'Just what did he use to do his hair?' All Might bemused, wondering if the hair was a part of his Quirk.

"Get up, Garou. I know you won't be downed that easily."

As if on cue, Garou's hand emerged from the hole and clasped the edge, dragging the rest of himself out into the sunlight like a demon crawling out from the depths of hell. Blood trickled from his lips, yet his grin only increased in ferocity and fighting spirit, almost as if relishing the challenge set before him.

"Hahaha! Yes! That's it, All Might!" Garou hopped out of the hold and landed at the edge of the crater, his landing creating little to no sound nor did it affect the asphalt.

"And to think I almost wrote you off as another worthless hero! The rest were disappointing failures, but you!"

An invisible ambiance radiated from Garou, almost as if he was emitting invisible energy - the air was darkening around him the moment he retook his unique stance.

"You might be my greatest hunt here in this world!"

All Might's scowl deepened further, his fists clenched even harder with trembling at Garou's derisive remarks to his victims.

"Don't label the heroes that worked day and night to preserve the peace 'worthless,' Garou. In the name of all the fallen felled by your hands, I will defeat you!"

All Might stomped a foot back, his legs spread and arms widening, as he roared - tangible lightning, arcs of power, surged from his very form and parted the air around All Might.

Garou could feel the wind blowing from his sheer power alone. The more Garou witnessed All Might's strength, the more excited he became.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

All Might roared with explosive power, cratering a spreading basin under his feet as the air shimmered with energy overflowing from his Quirk.

"Ohhh~ la la!" Garou only mockingly hummed, as if welcoming the challenge with all his heart.

This fight was what Garou waited for, an actual hero that rivaled the power of an average S-Class, a strong hero that could push him to reach the potential that lies at the other side - an unimaginable power that lies beyond the limit.

All Might watched as the quiet ambiance around Garou intensified even further and further, compressing and blending into a more tangible form - refined and condensed, still and calm as a still pond.

Feeling the placid, ominous aura, All Might cannot quell the unease in his heart. Something about this Villain sets him apart from the rest, even All For One, something far more dangerous than he can even imagine - an inexplicable feeling that cannot translate into mere words.

And then, they clashed, as All Might barrelled Garou over to the trash-covered sands of Dagoba Beach.

Sand and disparate trash of all amorphous shapes and sizes parted in their wake as the two clashing figures broke from their trade parallel to the tidal shores - feet sliding across the sands and the sun slowly sinking into the ocean at their respective sides.

Both fighters were raring for round two already, each injured by the other but still burned with fighting spirit.

Like a standoff, both fighters stood within the tense and still silence, ready to engage as the calm ocean breeze tickled their skin while the stench of rotting metal graced their nostrils.

Both Hero and Hunter glared into each other's eyes, tensed legs digging into the sand under them and fingers taut, daring each other to make the first move. The air remained so silent, that only the tidal sounds of crashing and receding waves filled the air, adding further tension to the battle between Hunter and Hero.

"Texaaaaasss Smaaash!"

The sound of a seagull cawing sparked their second round. They clashed, not even a second passed yet they traversed the distance faster than the average eyes can see.

In their clash, an explosion of air pressure shot from All Might's punch, blasting away some of the trash littering Dagoba into the air while whistling the wind very audibly. However, to his dismay and astonishment, Garou caught his Texas Smash, his predatory claw holding his fist in his palm. Not only that, sharp pain spiraled around his arm, blood spontaneously spilling from hand to shoulder to the skin of his neck.

"-What?!" All Might's complexion paled.

Garou countered Texas Smash countered seemingly without flaw as he briskly took his eyes off Garou for a moment to inspect his wounds out of shock.

All Might's conjecture of Garou's Quirk was derailed magnificently by Garou's feats. His Quirk was supposed to be something like his but operated on a different mechanic, yet even he could not explain the logic of his counter. It felt as if sharp blades coiled around his arm and reached his neck, tearing past his skin and one finger width deep into his muscles and allowing his blood to escape his veins and arteries.

However, when All Might glanced back, Garou already snaked his arms around of his, latching it tighter than any Quirk-empowered anaconda could in a constricting armhold. Garou flashed his ferocious grin at All Might as the Number One Hero widen his eyes - realized what he would do.

"Give me paw."

Unlike with Genos, All Might was flesh and blood. If he did to All Might what he did with the Demon Cyborg's mechanical arm, it would not bode well for the Number One Hero.

And thus, Garou spiraled around All Might's arm in an arm hold, bones cracking with every twist, landing one pace beside All Might's right side.

Not wasting a second, Garou leaped over the Number One Hero, corkscrew spinning his body along the way in a graceful arc no farther than a few inches radius from All Might as Garou's epicenter; nearly wrenching off All Might's arm while almost permanently breaking his bones in the process upon landing on All Might's left side.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHH!" All Might cried out in pain, gritting his teeth when he nearly felt his shoulder popped.

Garou backflipped, landing atop large, mangled refrigerator caked in grey rot and rust, perched like a frog, Garou smirked upon the sight of All Might's suffering of which All Might returned with a glare of his own.

"Give it up, Hero. I already memorized your moves. You're strong, but all this power you have is wasted in each punch. Like a hose with holes, you spray your power without exerting its fullest potential. In short, you cannot defeat me, the cause being your indolence in refining your power."

All Might did not respond, only clutching his right arm and forcibly popping his shoulder back in place. A grunt escaped his lips after the raw sound of cracking bone of his joint forcefully repressed back into place. The Hero panted from pain and exhaustion; the wind now billowed their hair from the ocean as the setting sun cast both of their slowly elongating shadows from the side.

'He's strong.'

All Might narrowed his glare. Not only was Garou skilled and powerful, but also analytically learned. If he kept fighting Garou, he would deflate, his power doused from overburning his Quirk. He was unsure whether he could end this here and now, but considering Garou's illogical strength, speed, and reflexes, it might prove to be a great challenge to overcome.

One step forward, Garou casually dropped from his perch. However, when Garou landed, it did not result in a soft touchdown. It resulted in an explosive cratering wave of sand enshrouding his visage from All Might's sight.

"!" Surprised, All Might blinked, but once he opened his eyelids, a broken flying refrigerator greeted his sight.

"What?!" All Might interpose the flying appliance with left arm - his right refusing to respond in time - as filaments and crumbed scraps of metal and parts splashed all over his body upon impact. All Might suffered no lesions from the collision, but once he swung his left arm to smack the appliance away, Garou was no longer there.

He changed locations at that moment, making All Might widen his eyes with shock as he turned his body around - unknowingly presenting his crippling scar to Garou at that vulnerable moment.

"Surprise!" Garou shouted, his body bent low with his right arm thrown forward and piercing All Might's side, directly at his weak spot - the force not aspired to puncture his skin and muscle but to inflict massive damage to his body and launch him forward like a cannon. Garou could feel the wound as blood splattered from All Might's suit to his hand.

All Might zipped through the air, and his body bent dangerously acute before he tumbled across the mire of junk and sand from shoulder to shoulder for several moments, clearing a swathing path between him and Garou.

The pain in his back felt as if someone planted a bomb inside his spine through his accursed scar, air rushing into his fatal cicatrix and pressed more blood from the cursed wound. That attack was different, something new as if air condensed itself into a concentrated sphere by Garou's will and blasted into his injury. It felt almost similar to one of All For One's Quirks.

Not only that, his time was almost near. The accumulating wounds from their fierce exchange shortened All Might's duration more than expected. He estimated a few minutes at best, the thought pushing him to pick himself up against the screaming pain as he turned to face Garou behind him with an unyielding glare.

However, Garou did not bear the same confident smile as before. Replacing his smirk was a scowl, a face of disbelief and irritation.

"The hell?" Garou appeared as if offended by his opponent.

"You dare come here wounded? Did you come here to mock me?" Garou trembled with frustration at the fact that his prey arrived as damaged goods - broken already by another. Seething at All Might with growing spite, Garou clenched his blood-drenched hand to the point of the whites of his knuckles showed.

No response came from All Might; all tensions drained like the blood leaving the gaping wound in his stomach as confusion replaced his hostility.

"I expected to face a Number One hero, a Symbol of Peace, not a goddamn patient that belongs to a hospital."

From that last attack, Garou knew. He could feel the malformations within All Might's stomach, and from his haggard breathing and inconsistent breaths, his lungs suffered as well. All Might's tempo felt off, which was the reason why All Might managed to bypass his guard. Garou knew something was wrong with All Might the moment they exchanged fists, but the revelation that the cause came from a past wound and not sophisticated tactics infuriates him. He did not commence his hunt to prey on the weak and sick.

"Ha ha-" All Might coughed, blood splotching the trash-covered sand with each laugh. "Hack! As if a flesh wound could keep me down!" He bluffed, smiling even in the face of oppressive odds.

'He knew when we fought?' Garou was the first to discern his secret. His greatest fear was starting to bloom before him, a villain discovering that he, Japan's Number One Hero, was growing weaker from scars of distant past. His anxiety rose with each second, his control over the situation now violently wrenched out of his reach.

His fate, no, the future of hero society itself, now fell under Garou's mercy.

"Tsk, then you should've stayed in bed." There was no merit in defeating an already wounded hero other than shame and dishonor. Despite All Might's valiant efforts in holding his ground against him, the hero besmirched Garou's hopes and spat on his expectations.

"Ha ha ha! How can I when the world still needs a hero more than ever? I will not rest until I've fulfilled my duty as the Symbol of Peace!" All Might retorted, his smile bent down to a frown despite his jolly timbre.

"Symbol?" Garou scoffed, now insulted by his proclamation.

"What kind of 'Symbol' fights with a gut wound and rotting lungs? You're by no means worthy of that title, especially as you are now."

Outraged by All Might's treachery, Garou turned around until his shoulder faced All Might, leaving their fight, heading towards the streets outside Dagoba Beach without giving the Number One Hero the chance to respond.

"Hm?" Confused, All Might watched Garou leave without a word.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm done. You ruined it. Congratulations. You've actually ruined the moment. I hope you're happy, you prick," Garou responded with sarcastic irritation, not even giving All Might a second glance.

"What?" All Might cannot understand his reasoning. "Why?"

"I don't hunt the impaired. Don't come back unless you're healed."

Garou's answer left All Might stunned.

"Don't tell me you're leaving me because I'm... not in my prime?"

"Don't push your luck, old man."

Out of all the things he anticipated from the Hero Hunter, 'honor' was not one of them, as well as insincerity. He expected the worst to happen that Garou will force him into his last stand, but instead, The Hero Hunter left because of All Might's failure of meeting his standards.

His pride roared to chase him, but his time was short, and he must tend to his wounds. He clenched his teeth in helplessness, forced to endure the shame of defeat. He cannot call for help or else he'd feed them to the line of victims under Garou's consecutive victories. He cannot muster the strength needed to rise and resume their fight. And worse, he couldn't defeat the sense of failure pricking his heart, forced to watch the villain walk away unchallenged. All Might can only seal his lips shut as his eyes trailed Garou's form traveling into the distance with a pained mien, forced to accept the lesser of the evils presented - causing him to dig his fingers deeper into the sand with clenched teeth.

As he laid there powerless, the memory of Garou from their initial meeting returned. How can such an amiable man be capable of committing such atrocities with glee? He cannot accept this. He could not acknowledge Garou's ethos as something spawned from a spontaneous and senseless whim.

"I never took you for a man of honor," All Might called out.

"Don't be mistaken. You're no longer worth my time," Garou replied without stopping nor looking back. His answer infuriated him

"And the other heroes? Tell me, are they worth 'your time?' Why hunt them if there's no value in me? Why are you doing this, my boy?" All Might can tell. Garou was bluffing, his words now insincere.

That made Garou stop in his tracks. All Might knew Garou was finding a response.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you hunting heroes, Garou?! Someone like you shouldn't commit such atrocities! I know from our exchange you are better than this!" Pushing himself up to his knee, All Might shouted, all of his emotions poured into this outburst. Garou's forms and fighting style were pure, radiating with discipline and sharpened with purpose. Garou was like a blade made by human hands, a warrior's hands, a divine gleaming quality through the lens of aggressive intent.

No villain can fight with evident emphasis on diligence and effort like him. The man he first met on this beach was opposite the man now, as if the face of a villain donned itself onto that of an ordinary, estranged man. What course of events could lead someone like him so far astray?

This time, Garou allowed All Might a sideways glance. His eyes bore no traces of evil, no hunger for violence or chaos. Only a predator's eyes, wolven eyes, those of a Hunter's responded to All Might's gaze, revealing just a glimpse of Garou's true nature.

"Because I must."

Garou spoke with a voice of keen conviction, one that can cut through the most stubborn of hearts with ease. His response was cryptic to All Might, but despite it, he can tell - a reason driving behind his crusade.

All Might swore himself to know why, because he knew he must as well. If he wished to end this nightmare, he must understand this tragic soul before he could bring catastrophe.