3: wayward disciple.

Prologue part 3 (rewritten 04/25/2024)

3: wayward disciple.

The sight that greeted him as he entered the dojo was one of destruction and regret. His fellow disciples were in critical condition, and the place was almost entirely destroyed. When he entered to search for the culprit, the sight that greeted him was Garou reading his master's secret scrolls.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Oh!" Garou turned to look at him, a wild smile spreading across his face.

"Long time no see! I was really disappointed you weren't here when I started, but this solves it! I heard about your rise to the ranks of Class S, I wanted to start with some lower-ranked rookies, but I guess starting with you makes it even better. I'll test my strength by hunting down the new Class S Hero as my first prey!"

Garou stood up, still with that smile on his face. Jaune furrowed his brows, not understanding his younger counterpart's words.

Jaune hadn't come to know Garou as well during the time he had been learning under Bang, but he had never seemed like someone capable of attacking his comrades in this manner.

"Prey? Hunting? What the hell are you talking about, Garou?!" Jaune was not in a good mood. Seeing the place he had come to call home destroyed like this didn't sit well with him at all.

Even worse, one of his brothers, one of his master's students, had done it!

"You don't need to understand it. You just need to know that today, you'll fall, hero!" Then Garou attacked.

Garou was a genius; he had talent beyond anyone Jaune had ever known.

But even a genius needs time, even a genius needs experience.

Where Garou had stayed in the dojo training, Jaune had been killing monsters since he was a child.

Where Garou had focused on polishing his master's signature technique, Jaune had already mastered it and had learned many others.

Where Garou could show the strength to defeat demon-level threats, Jaune had already killed dragon-level threats.

They might be the same age, but Jaune had been training and fighting for twelve years.

No matter how much of a genius Garou was, three simple years training in a dojo weren't enough to close a gap like that.

With a well-directed blow, Garou's body crashed forcefully onto the ground.

Spitting blood, he quickly got up and launched himself backward to dodge a kick aimed at his head.

The ground sank, and the entire mountain peak shook from the impact.

'That would have killed me!' Garou looked in astonishment at the spot where he had been before.

"Surprised? You shouldn't be. You've spat on everything Master Bang taught us, you've destroyed my home, the dojo that took you in, and now you talk about hunting heroes. So, I've decided that someone like you shouldn't continue existing in this world"

Perhaps the biggest difference between Jaune and Charanko was the ease with which he could be willing to kill.

This world was much crueler than his past life's; humans were just as monstrous, if not more so, than the monsters.

He had stopped doubting a long time ago. He had no doubt that his master would have made the same decision upon learning of Garou's goals, but his master was too kind. Maybe he would have been willing to do it at first, but Jaune knew he probably wouldn't have had the will to carry it out in the end.

It was his duty as his disciple then to end this for him.

If Garou wanted to hunt heroes and deprive innocent people of the chance to be saved, then there was no mercy for him.

"Tch! Heroes, always ready to harm others without hesitation. I shouldn't have expected anything different" Garou's smile faded.

Jaune narrowed his eyes; he didn't like that look on Garou's face.

He took a stance, and the fight began again.

Certainly, Garou was a genius. As they fought more, Jaune could say without a doubt that if Garou had left the dojo earlier and had fought monsters or other opponents, his strength would undoubtedly be much greater now.

With each exchange, Garou became more skilled. He was learning from Jaune and stealing his own experience like a sponge.

Garou hadn't fully learned the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist; his master Bang hadn't taught it to him completely yet, but what he knew was enough for him to use the secret of energy currents to follow his own movements and thus increase his experience and skill.

Undoubtedly, Garou was a genius. Although Jaune knew this was possible and had used it himself to learn other martial arts to a lesser extent, he was still surprised that Garou could figure out such a thing when he hadn't fully learned the water stream yet.

What was most amazing was that he seemed to have taken it one step further and used it in a way that Jaune didn't think was possible.

This fight should have ended much earlier, but Garou managed to keep up like a sponge, absorbing knowledge and experience from Jaune with each exchange of blows.

His own level in the Water Stream technique increasing in great strides.

He couldn't go on like this. If he kept it up, Garou would soon fully learn the Water Stream because of him.

He couldn't allow Garou to keep getting stronger.

So, in an instant, Jaune stopped using the Water Stream. It was just a moment, a beat of the heart.

It was enough to catch Garou by surprise and break the flow he had been following.

Bakushin Kaihō-ken was a martial art that could display incomparable destructive power, a martial art that focused completely on offense.

Totally the opposite of the Water Stream.

And that was Garou's downfall.

Or it would have been if his master hadn't stopped his blow at the last moment.

There was a tense silence before Jaune lowered his fists and stepped back.

His master looked at Garou; Jaune couldn't see it, but a pained expression crossed his gaze.

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Garou was expelled, and many of Jaune's fellow disciples left the Dojo, but some others remained.

Jaune didn't know what would become of Garou, but he wasn't willing to let him harm others following his delusions about being a monster.

If Garou truly attacked other heroes, Jaune would have to go after him.

He hoped that the talk his master had with him would make him reconsider, but he doubted it.

During the time that followed, there were no news of Garou for a while, and Jaune was forced to focus on other matters.

He had started teaching other lower-ranked heroes, and his master's Dojo had gained some more students.

The world seemed more turbulent, and more monsters began to appear.

There was another Class S hero, Genos, a cyborg.

Jaune hadn't spoken much with him, but there were good rumors about him.

Jaune kept fighting, kept saving more people, kept learning more.

The fight with Garou had given him a certain revelation, and he had begun to focus once again on the Water Stream.

The flow of energy behind the currents and the tumultuous tides.

His strength increased even more when he realized how to use the currents correctly, taking his martial art one step further by realizing that he had only scratched the surface of its true essence.

It bothered him to admit it, but without that fight with Garou, he probably wouldn't have understood the true strength behind the Water Stream despite mastering the martial art.

But now that he knew, every fight only meant that his strength grew greater, his ability and experience increasing in leaps and bounds once more.

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City A was destroyed, a true alien attack! Jaune would have been even more surprised if it weren't for all the craziness he had been dealing with since he arrived in this new world.

If this were a comic, he probably would have stormed into the ship and fought against the invader.

Unfortunately, he hadn't developed the ability to fly yet, so he stayed on the ground and helped others against one of the invaders.

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Garou returned, he began to hunt heroes, they hadn't explicitly said his name, but Jaune knew it must be him.

That hero hunter had to be Garou.

When Jaune had decided to go after him, his master stopped him.

"This is my fault, I let him go, and now innocent people are paying for it. As his master, it is my responsibility to stop him"

So Jaune could only leave things in Bang's hands.

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Disclaimer: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes there may be.

originally posted in the nsfw section of questionable questing (rewritten 04/25/2024)