Chapitre 20: Chapter 20: Unwanted Plus One
The video was an uproar.
Hundreds of thousands of views in one minute. Millions of views in five.
The number kept rising exponentially until it reached the asymptote.
Most viewed the video with pity and slight disappointment in the Number Two Hero. Those who were endeared to Endeavour saw the video as an outrage or a betrayal, some forsaking the Number Two Hero from the humiliating defeat at the hands, or foot, of the Demon of Hosu. Others found the video hilarious; one felt that it was justly deserved, karmic retribution for the scar on his left eye.
The one in glasses and with engine tubes protruding from his back legs was one of the outraged individuals, glaring at the man who was visually appraising him.
"You want me to train this thing?"
The one known as Garou pointed at Tenya Iida, younger brother of Ingenium.
"I am not a thing! I am Tenya Iida! The one that will bring you to-"
However, before Tenya could continue, his brother covered his mouth from behind.
"Ahaha, please go easy on him. He is still a bit agitated at the moment, so…"
"Oh great, it's annoying." The Hero Hunter grimaced at the sight of the loudmouth that was giving him wrathful glares.
"Do you mind if I pull out his engine things?" Garou asked as he narrowed his eyes at the little brother.
Tenya stopped talking, frozen stiff.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Garou scoffed. "Listen, you brat. I am in a good mood. Suppose you try and annoy me on purpose because you have personality issues; I'll cut off your legs and send you to a permanent wheelchair. One more unwanted lip from you, and you will know greater agony than Endeavour's. Do I make myself clear?"
Tenya did not respond as cold sweat trickled from his skin.
"Ahaha, sorry." Tensei let go of Tenya as the latter continued staring at Garou, yet the suppressed frustration was still there.
"Nii-san… I am against this!"
"Lip."
Tenya froze on the spot.
"Talk more politely."
"...I am against… training under him… He is the-"
Tenya stopped when Garou growled, reminding him of his threat.
"...I mean…"
"Tenya." Tensei placed a hand on Tenya's shoulder. "I know that this man isn't someone a hero would associate with. But… after watching him for a while, I've realized that we might learn something from him. You might gain something important from Bang."
"...Bang?" Tenya asked.
"That is my name. Remember to use it whenever we're in public or else." Garou reminded.
Tenya stared at the crimson-haired rogue standing in broad daylight atop the sands of Dagobah Beach, dumbfounded.
Who was this person standing across him? Wasn't he supposed to be more… vicious? Savage? He turned back towards his brother while Tensei shrugged with an apologetic smile.
"I don't think this one is ready, honestly. He's the type to ignore the important stuff when it slaps his face."
"Hey!" Tenya shot back. "Your accusation is biased! I am at the top of my class in a private school!"
The moment he said that Garou's face scrunched into an even more disappointed scowl.
"Yeah, as I thought. He's way too pampered."
Tenya flinched at the remark, anger besmirching his face.
"Yeah. You can see why I might need a little help in educating him." Tensei agreed, much to Tenya's shock as the latter grit his teeth.
Garou shook his head with palpable disappointment in each minute detail of his movements. Tensei could see the pure condescendence radiating out of the Hero Hunter's eyes. It only further sparked his fury as Tenya felt his throat stretched with words he wanted to throw at him.
"Tsk, I don't have time or energy to babysit an overgrown brat. Look at him." Garou pointed at Tenya. "He looks like he wants to challenge me and lose his balls. Actually, I might rip them off just to prove a point."
All indignant rage bubbling within Tenya died in his throat at the visceral image that came to his mind from the words spoken.
"Please don't scare my little brother too much. Your stunt with Endeavour has garnered a lot of controversy within the Hero Community. If you keep doing this, there won't be any challengers wanting to fight you." Tensei lightly pleaded with an awkward chuckle.
"It was fun as hell, honestly. But back to the point, what should I do with this brat? He's finally thinking straight, but I don't want him. One look at him is enough for me to read him."
"He can't be that bad," Tensei argued.
"He looks like he will eat any useless crap about heroes thrown at him without a closer inspection. Not only that, he has a Quirk, making it highly likely that he is the kind of person that forces his values on other people without understanding the situation behind them, especially certain victims of current society."
Tensei and Tenya looked at Garou. Their faces wore a mien of slight surprise at his choice of words.
"What?" Garou narrowed his eyes as he read their thoughts on their faces.
"Oh, um, anyways. Could you at least entertain the idea at the moment? I mean, give my little brother a chance before you make your ultimatum." Tensei implored the man that shamed the Number Two hero in front of millions.
Garou looked at Tenya. Tenya was calmer than before now, less noisy after hearing the possibility of castration.
"...Kid. What do you think of me?"
Tenya took a few seconds to digest the question before he formulated a response.
"...You're a dangerous menace to society, and you must be stopped." Tenya gave out his opinions loud and clear.
"That's it?" Garou asked, quirking a brow.
Tenya did not answer. He did not know what Garou expected to hear from him.
"So your insight can only take you this far, huh?" Garou shook his head with belittlement.
"Fine, I'll give him three days. If he proves to be a whiny brat by then, I'll kick him out."
"Thank you for your patience." Tensei smiled and bowed slightly.
"Tsk, you're only getting away with this because of that favor. Still, don't bring me anything unreasonable again. He looks hopeless no matter how I look at him."
"Well, I thought you could do it since you already have one apprentice."
"ONE. And he's a prodigy. This guy looks like he wants to be written off." Garou pointed a thumb at Tenya.
"Ludicrous! I am training to attend UA High, and I will be one of those admitted!" Tenya vocalized his dissent with a loud, obnoxiously proud voice when it came to the mention of UA.
Garou's eyes, however, looked at him as if he looked at something unsightly.
"Yeah, I made my point. Don't expect much after the trial run is over."
"Hahaha, I prefer that you be more tolerant of my little brother. Who knows, maybe he could surprise you?"
Garou narrowed his eyes at Tensei before he turned to Tenya.
"You. What's your name?"
Tenya glared at Garou as he pushed the rims of his glasses.
"I am Tenya Iida! I am the brother of Ingenium, Hero of-"
"Don't care. You. Why do you want to be a hero?" Garou asked.
"Hm?" Garou's sudden question gave Tenya pause. "To become a great hero just like my brother!"
Garou stared at him in silence as he shook his head.
"Your benchmark is way too low."
"What do you mean by that?!" Tenya shouted at Garou.
"If you wanted to impress me, you should've said 'become a hero greater than your brother.' Don't level up to the same ground as those before you. Be better than them, kid."
Words of wisdom unexpectedly left the lips of the man that defamed the Number Two Hero. For once, Tenya felt speechless, unable to find a retort to argue against the villain before him.
"You. Time for a trial run." Garou pointed at Tenya.
'Trial run?'
Tenya and Tensei were confused by the term. Tenya pointed at himself with a face that expressed his befuddlement.
"It means show me what you got, kid. Right here and now." Garou took several steps backward as he slid his hands into his pocket.
"...you want my brother to spar with you?" Tensei asked, starting to digest the weight behind his words.
"Why do you think we're here so early in the morning in this sandy junkyard with no one around?" Garou gestured to the trash-ridden beach around them.
They currently stood in a glade amidst the sea of garbage, on an open spot in the sands with barely any refuse. Tensei and Tenya thought Garou brought them here for the sake of privacy alone, but… Tensei and Tenya exchanged worried glances, though Tenya was more concerned for himself considering Garou's reputation.
"A-Are you trying to kill him? Please don't kill him." Tensei begged.
"What? No. I want to see what I'm working with before I start working on him for real."
Tenya stuttered as he clenched his hands. Garou looked at his legs, the legs with engine tubes protruding from the back. His legs were trembling, still, his fear overcoming his stubbornness.
"N-Nii-san…" Tenya grits his teeth. Everything about him is quivering, from his eyes to his arms, down to his very toes. Almost every part of him trembled in fear of the man before him, the few parts that weren't hating himself for letting such dread take ahold of him.
"Garou-san, it is not good to scare people you just met like this, even if he is antagonistic towards you."
"I mean it. Besides, how else am I supposed to calm him down enough to talk with me? One look is all I know that his head is an engine block." Garou gestured to the leg tubes for reference.
"Well… how much are you going to hurt him?" Tensei asked, rubbing the back of his head with a defeated sigh.
"I won't hit him if you're wondering."
For some reason, the brothers do not feel an inkling to believe his words considering his infamous track record. However, they do not feel like they even had a choice to deny it vocally.
Besides, Garou was already rolling his shoulders. There was no room to turn him down.
Tensei glanced at Tenya. The little brother gulped.
All of his frustrations and hate he built ever since Garou sent his big brother to the hospital seemed to diminish, like all the air in the room left, leaving so little to stoke the embers of his quashed anger. When faced with the prospect of facing great fear in the face, brittle resolve falters and crack under the weight.
Tenya did not exchange words with Tensei.
Tenya grimaced as he widened his feet apart and bent his knees, cold sweat trickling from his skin.
"Well, I don't need to ask if you've never been in a real fight," Garou called out as he looked at his legs.
Tenya did not answer, only stifling the lump in his throat.
"Everything about you screams 'greenhorn.' No worries, though. Consider this as your first bite of the Hero life you so adore." Garou raised his arm, his other hand placed behind his back, and wagged his fingers.
"Come at me when you're ready. Don't stall for too long."
Tenya turned to meet his brother's eyes. Tensei returned his gaze with a nod.
No words need to be said for Tenya to understand the message.
Tenya slowly bent his upper body forward and placed his fingers on the sand.
He lowered himself into a standard running position - the kind athletes used to form before bursting themselves into a sprint. Tenya looked at Garou carefully.
Everything about Garou was relaxed and passive. There was no tension in his form or movement. Tenya wasn't sure if Garou had any openings despite seeing his guard was seemingly down. He could not trust his eyes or senses.
This man defeated many of the top ten one on one, and Tenya was aware of his standing as a novice.
The engine tubes behind his legs revved. Garou's ears twitched, his eyes flickering towards the engine tubes. Tenya wanted to strain himself to battle against the monster before him, to go beyond his limits and take the man down once and for all, but he knew that overworking his mind at this point was folly.
All he would receive was a headache and degradation of his focus.
His Quirk revving up to life with an explosive burst of power, Tenya shot forth like an arrow striding above the sand. He lifted his left leg and swung it with all his might, the tubes shooting out streams of pressure as his Quirk overheated itself.
However, when he swung his kick, Tenya suddenly found himself spinning in the air with the world tilting like a rolling wheel. There was no ground beneath his feet; there was only air and the sense of nausea until he felt the sand crashing into his head and arm.
"Abugf?!" Tenya coughed as he spat.
What just happened? Tenya struggled to pick up his head, looking around, only to see Garou with one arm raised.
"...No matter how many times I see it, I am in awe of your technique," Tensei commented.
He saw it all from behind Tenya before Tenya flew over Garou.
With one precise sweep of his hand, Garou swept Tenya's standing leg while simultaneously parrying his leg attack. He also used Tenya's own momentum to launch him into the air with such minimal effort, spinning him in the air from that single contact.
"Your little brother is definitely going to be a piece of work." Garou, however, grimaced.
"How is he, by the way?" Tensei asked. He wanted to hear Garou's more detailed thoughts on Tensei.
"He is greener than seaweed." Garou lashed out. "He has absolutely no control over his Quirk AND his body. His leg engines stalled at the last minute, meaning his Quirk can short out from overuse, and he has zero combat experience. As far as I know, the school he wants to go to is completely combat-oriented, right? By the way, there's no way I am training him on how to use his Quirk, so that you know."
Tenya wiped the sand off his lips as he pushed himself to his feet. He felt a little lightheaded, and his shoulder was in pain, but he was, overall, uninjured.
"I expected as much," Tensei muttered.
"I'll let this school train his Quirk for me instead." Garou turned on his heels and started walking away.
"Tell him to come here tomorrow at the usual time today. If he decides to be absent, then I'm writing him off." Garou spoke once without giving Tenya a chance to retort as he walked away from the trash-littered beach, stepping from the sands to the sidewalk.
Tensei sighed as Tenya rubbed his shoulder. It was almost dislocated from the impact as the little brother returned to his brother while his eyes remained affixed on Garou's leave.
"...Nii-san." Tenya grimaced as he lost balance a little. He was still feeling a little light-headed.
"So? What do you think?" Tensei asked his little brother about the experience.
"...I know I asked this before, but why did you bring me to him for… this?" Tenya asked as he looked at the Garou's shrinking figure.
Tensei had a lot of reasons, many of which he wanted to say but couldn't say without most of it bouncing off of Tenya's ears right now.
"Let's just say I want to give you a chance to explore new horizons. Something new before everyone else could catch up."
Tenya looked at his brother for a moment.
"...Why?" Tenya asked. "You're a hero, Nii-san. Aren't you supposed to… report him to the proper authorities or alert the other heroes? Shouldn't you hate him for what he's done?"
Tensei understood from Tenya's point of view. However, Tenya had yet to intake the full weight of this fragile balance of the fulcrum they now stood.
"A hero shouldn't hate, little brother." Tensei lightly chopped Tenya's head. "I understand that hate is natural in the face of evil. It is something that is within us all, waiting for the chance to escape. But it is also easy for your hate to cloud your perception of justice and... lose sight of who you are."
Tenya paused as he stared at Garou.
"But he has broken many laws and mocked every Hero in Japan! He has crushed many heroes unjustly! He has hurt many, especially you!" Tenya shouted in protest.
"But I didn't ask for you to hate him on my behalf. I don't need you to be angry for me, Tenya." Tensei chopped his head.
"But..." Tenya grimaced as he glared at Garou. "...Nii-san... why aren't you angry at him? After everything he has done?"
"Well..." Tenya looked up in thought. "Normally, I would be angry if a villain sends me to the hospital, but... when you look up from the bed, wondering why you're back in the same bed despite our preparations, you will start looking at things in a different light. It is not easy to explain. It is a strange feeling... trusting someone that personally beat me up. I was curious... what could motivate a man like him? Why is someone with so much potential go against the world we live in, both good and evil?"
Tensei chuckled a little at the fond memory, him with Garou chatting over mundane things and discussing opinions and the current state of the hero world. Frankly, Tensei might think that he could be considered Garou's first friend, but only if he acknowledged it.
"...Nii-san," Tenya uttered, left speechless and in awe of his brother's semi-philosophical question.
"Tenya. If there is one thing I learned about Garou, he is not as black and white as you think. I want you to accept your big brother's request and study under him. I am hoping that you will also learn the difference between a Villain… and the man that defeated me."
Tenya looked at him for a moment.
He didn't know that his brother had changed this much… he thought he was just dispirited, but no, he was simply coming to terms with a change of perspective. Tenya looked down on his feet, conflicted by his brother's words.
"...I will try my best, Nii-san."
Tenya still didn't approve of Garou, but… he admitted that he had much to learn. He would at least give Garou a fair judgement to see what he was like behind the mask.
He braced himself for the worst Garou had to offer, prepared for anything Garou could throw his way.
---------
"Who is this geek? He looks laaaaame! Probably dumber than Moss Head!"
He had failed.
Tenya was completely unprepared for what Garou threw his way as he stared at the young boy in complete dumbfoundment.
Riding Garou's shoulders at the break of dawn was a child, probably around ten, judging by his height. Tenya recognized this child now that he thought about it, at least his voice triggered his memory… wasn't he the one that shouted at Garou to strike Endeavour's fatal spot and brutally emasculate the Number Two Hero?
He put two and two together and he still couldn't believe it.
Not only that, behind Garou, Tenya saw two more figures.
One was an adult, but he looked like he was skin and bones, very emaciated at dangerous levels. He was blonde, had blue eyes and black sclera, and no matter how he looked at the man, he looked very sickly and in need of medical attention.
The other one was quite pitiful. If there was a better description, the kid around his own age looked like a slave from ancient times carrying things much heavier than his build should allow.
The emaciated man that looked like a mummy waved at him.
"Something someone dropped on me, and I don't like it." Garou waved off. "He will be joining us in training from now on until the UA entrance exam. I don't expect much from him, honestly, but he is free to surprise me."
His careless evaluation made Tenya frown. He even decided to give Garou a chance, but he admitted that he did not make a good first impression.
"Eh, now that I look at him…" The boy riding Garou looked down at Tenya, tilting to the left to get a better look at his legs. "Oh, he has a Quirk…"
The boy's face soured.
"...Do you have something against my Quirk?" Tenya asked.
"Martial Arts is wasted on you. You're probably the kind of person that puts Quirks first above all others, so yeah, I do."
Tenya stared at the kid dumbfounded. It was the first time he had been treated like… well, he couldn't put it in the right words other than being in the old days when Quirks first emerged, at least according to what he learned in history class. It wasn't as severe but it was still an experience he could not put into words.
And there were no words Tenya could find to respond to this child's one-sided opinion.
"Glasses, introduce yourself to your seniors."
A drop of sweat trickled Tenya's brow. The first day and Garou already started ordering him around. He was worried that he would end up like the person Garou called Cub, forced to risk the integrity of his spine in the name of ridiculous labor.
He cleared his throat a little and presented himself.
"...Very well. My name is Tenya Iida, and I am the proud brother of the Hero of Hosu, Ingenium."
The boy's face scrunched up even further. What did he say to make him displeased?
"...May I ask for your name?" Tenya continued, looking up at the boy whose face was looking at him with what he judged as dislike.
"...Ghin Shinjitsu." Ghin introduced himself bitterly. "Aniki's first and greatest disciple! And your brother sucks"
It was the first time he heard such a blatant negative opinion of his brother from someone so young.
"...I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me! Your brother is lame! And since you're not even a hero, you suck even more!"
That was an insulting way of comparing him and his brother. Normally, he would lash out at any negative slander… but to hear it from a child so blatantly, he couldn't find the energy or the justification to argue. Frankly, he was pushed in a very unexpectedly terrible position from an argumental standpoint.
"Moving on."
Garou managed to save him from the awkward tension.
"The skeleton there is Skeleton. I don't know why he is here and not in a hospital bed for some reason." Garou pointed a thumb at the emaciated man.
"Um, actually, my name is Toshinoi Ya-"
"The slave there is Cub. Unfortunately, he is currently worthless right now, so I am putting him under special care."
Tenya looked at the man Garou called Skeleton, his emotional processors unable to respond to the ridiculous, demeaning nicknames he gave them.
Never had he seen someone treat others so terribly and not be the bad guy at the same time. He felt sorry for the boy being treated like an actual beast of burden, though he wasn't sure that he could do anything about it.
"And as for you, it's time for your initiation test."
Tenya turned to Garou, confused. The boy atop his shoulders suddenly flashed a smile, one that looked innocent, but there was a lot of malicious intent hidden behind it.
"You. Fight Shrimp."
"Eh?" The words failed to enter his ears fully.
"By the way, he also calls me Shrimp!" Ghin flashed a cheeky smile as he dropped down to the sands while Garou walked to the side.
"Wait, what? Am I… are you actually using a child as a…?" Tenya was confused, very confused.
"You are the perfect practice dummy for my first disciple, and I want you to see how lacking you are by losing against a child."
In other words, Garou wanted to see him humiliated. Tenya didn't expect this… no, it should be expected, but he didn't think it would be like this. The boy was even smiling cheerily.
"I shall thoroughly grind your bones to dust and smelt your Quirk into scrap!"
Tenya did not know how to respond to that declaration of promised violence.
"I-I don't… I am not going to fight a little-"
Before Tenya could continue, said little kid walked up to him and, without warning, kicked Tenya in the one spot that took the world by storm.
Tenya had never felt such excruciating agony as his face made expressions he didn't know he could or was making at the time as he clutched his one spot between the legs and pressed his knees together while alien squawks escaped his throat.
"Shut up and fight, Four Eyes!"
Tenya stumbled back, his shaking legs growing weak as a groan violently clawed its way out his throat, but he kept it in as he shot a pained glare at the young boy.
"Nice shot." Garou lightly chastised as Tenya took deep breaths to exhale out the pain, forcing his backs to straighten as he stood up from his awkward position.
"...Do you really have to reenact that scene?" The skeleton asked.
"Crushing pride under my foot feels awesome!" Ghin declared with sadistic glee.
Tenya did not share Ghin's enthusiasm in forceful emasculation.
"Aim for the face next time. Are you ready, kid?"
Tenya grimaced, the pain still reverberating through his lower half as he prepared himself. The boy entered a fighting stance, his lower half facing sideways while his left arm reared back while his right hand stretched forward. Tenya recognized this fighting stance from some of Garou's videos, though he was unsure from what school of martial arts it came from.
Tenya lowered his form and widened his legs with his arms spread apart. There was no room for refusal, and the pain was more than convincing to indulge in the need for justice for his groin.
He caught the sight of the boy called Moss Head dropping his baggage to spectate the fight beside the one called Skeleton.
"Start whenever you're ready." Garou casually waved his hand.
Tenya no longer had any choice other than to fight. Besides, the kid made it personal but bestowed Endeavour's fate onto him. Did that kid know the waves he made by shouting that ridiculous suggestion to Garou? Many fans of Endeavour were devastated, and hope in Heroes dwindled even further.
Still, how should Tenya end this farce? Despite his misgivings, he still had standards.
He started up his Quirk, engines revving to life with smoke leaving the tubes, propelling his legs with his muscles as he ran.
He would simply show the kid the difference in their physical strength and the advantage he had with his Quirk and end this farce once and for-
Bam!
"?!"
When he swung his leg for a low kick, the boy disappeared under his legs; something slammed the ankle of his standing foot and knocked him in the air before he felt two hands holding his head and pulled him into the sand facefirst. Tenya tried to stand, but something hit his nape, and he blacked out.
---------
Izuku and Toshinori blanked.
The new person called Tenya was face down on the sand, and he was not moving an inch.
After knowing the child for a while, they knew that the young boy was strong, but they did not take his skill into account. They thought that Garou was stating it lightly when he said that he was talented.
What Tenya didn't know was that Ghin slid under his swinging leg, pivoted on one foot, and kicked the older boy's standing leg before leaping up and grabbing his head. After that, Ghin twisted his body weight and slammed Tenya's head to the ground and, before Tenya could get up, Ghin slammed his elbow into Tenya's nape, dealing the finishing blow in one clean swoop.
The boy got off the teenager and huffed back to Garou.
"How did I do?!" Ghin asked with a smile, looking up at Garou expectantly.
Garou simply flashed a thumbs-up.
Ghin pumped up his arms into the air with glee over his victory.
"Yay! Can I kick him out?" Ghin asked.
"No, I made a promise with that guy's brother. Unfortunately, we have to keep him around… for now." Garou answered with a slight distaste for Tenya's presence.
"Awww." Ghin dropped his arms and drooped his shoulders with disappointment.
"But if he gets too annoying, feel free to break his legs."
"Yay!"
Toshinori started coughing into his hand to catch his attention, hoping to distract him from the prospect of crippling a minor.
"Ahem, um, I believe that we should wake him up. We can't have someone pass out like this on public property." Toshinori attempted to arouse their sense of reason.
"I refuse." Garou waved off. "If I wake him up, I'll get an annoying earful of his whining."
Toshinori could relate with that prospect.
"However, it is important for a teacher to show some patience in a student, Bang. There is no merit in impatience, especially when you didn't give this young lad a chance to prove himself."
"Ohhhh." Izuku was surprised by All Might's counterargument.
Garou could only stare at Toshinori in a pregnant pause before the Hero Hunter clicked his tongue.
"Fine, but you do it. And you, moss-head, finish up today's quota. After that, Shrimp is going to help you learn how to fight."
Izuku's ears perked at the mention of 'fight.'
"Oh?" Toshinori uttered with intrigue. "Are you finally starting to teach young Midoriya your ways?"
Both All Might and Midoriya were interested in Garou's supernatural martial arts that could seamlessly deflect and redirect seemingly everything thrown at him, be it Quirks, bullets, or otherwise.
"Shrimp is doing it." Garou kicked Tenya's body, jabbing his head with his foot. "All of this is jury-rigged. I'm just doing this to see if your student could break the status quo. Right now, I am trying to see the limit of his martial talent."
In short, he was testing the waters with Izuku.
"Oh." Toshinori understood.
"Though I don't have much hope for him, to be honest," Garou added.
His word did not
"Why is that?" Toshinori asked.
"I'm not one to kiss and tell. Better to let the kid figure out that one himself." Garou waved off his question much to Toshinori's visible chagrin. "Anyways, as I said, get to work if you want to learn some kung-fu."
Izuku looked at Ghin, and then the older boy called Tenya for a moment, the latter starting to stir with a groan escaping his lips.
"Ugh, my head," Tenya uttered, rubbing his sore nape. "What happened…?"
"You lost to a ten-year-old. Congratulations, you're a loser." Garou answered as Tenya looked up at him from his prone position.
"What? What do you… oh." Tenya widened his eyes in remembrance. "Wait a minute! This isn't right?! I cannot-...! How can…?!"
Tenya turned to Izuku and Toshinori.
The two looked away, avoiding eye contact. That was enough for Tenya to understand the answer.
"This is absurd! By all logic and definition, I should-abuf!?"
Garou kicked him down on the sand before Tenya could continue making unwanted noise.
"Get to work, Glasses. Complain again, and I will personally castrate you."
Tenya grimaced as he looked back up, flinching when he felt a dangerous surge of intent emanating from Garou's eyes.
His fear overcoming his outrage, images of the Hero Hunter doing as he promised coursing through his head, Tenya gave Garou one last defiant glare before he clicked his tongue. He begrudgingly picked himself up and walked towards the trash pile.
"Skeleton, help him get started. Don't you dare go easy on him?" Garou called out.
"Hah, very well." Toshinori gave up on correcting him. He hoped that time would mellow Garou enough to call him by his actual name.
As Toshinori joined Tenya, Izuku realized he was still carrying his load. He quickly resumed his progress and prepared to move the discarded appliance out of the way towards the pile at the pavement.
Izuku doubled his pace, not giving Tenya any mind to focus all his attention on his current task. After a couple of months, Izuku would finally be able to move onto the next stage of training and take his first step into Garou's world.
Izuku continued carrying heavy litter by litter, twice as much as before, with excitement fluttering in his chest. After an hour, Izuku finally let out a breath of relief as he looked at today's pile, Tenya contributing to the clean-up just as well with slight complaints at first.
"Yooooo! Are you ready for your lesson?!" Ghin shouted from the beach as most of the morning sun peeked from the ocean horizon.
Izuku perked his head at the call. He immediately returned to shore as he ran up to the child and stood at attention.
"Yes, senpai! I am ready!" Izuku shouted.
It was kind of embarrassing to call a younger boy his senpai, but age does not measure experience in a certain field. Izuku remained steadfastly still as Ghin walked up to him, inspecting him, crouching and scrutinizing him from left to right and up to down.
"Hmmm, have you ever been in a fight?" Ghin asked as he started squeezing Izuku's arm.
"Um…" Izuku only recalled one event where it counted as a fight a little, but that was a long time ago.
"Do you have an idea on how to fight at least?"
"Oh, yes." Izuku nodded. "I-I tend to write notes about the heroes and their fighting styles, so…"
"So you know how to start. Got it," Ghin concluded for Izuku as Ghin kicked Izuku's shin. Izuku winced a little as he felt a slight throbbing pain.
"Yep, you're a virgin."
Izuku, Toshinori, and even Garou stared at Ghin; all caught off guard by his choice of word.
"...What?" Toshinori asked.
"What? I mean, he is a total newbie." Ghin stated as if it was obvious.
Toshinori looked at Garou, sending him implicit signals with his eyes.
Garou simply shrugged, conveying his similar confusion, prompting further worry in Toshinori about the child's upbringing.
"Get into position, Moss Head," Ghin ordered as he entered his martial stance.
Izuku gulped nervously. The boy was definitely above him in martial prowess. He didn't think that he would see someone so small take down someone larger unarmed in real life, not in anime or manga, before his eyes.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone