Two Sides to Every Coin (OPM Garou x OC)

Prologue: Territorial Dispute

3+ YEARS AGO
The mountains were quiet. Desolate, void of people.
A perfect place for a man without a purpose. Not anymore, anyway.
Garou trekked through the mountains after running from the city.
After Tareo granted him a chance to escape Amai Mask and the other beaten up S Class heroes. He was dirty, his shirt completely destroyed, his hair singed after his monster form crumbled.
Garou was confused, angry...void of thoughts or sense of self.
He was no longer a monster, that image shattered by none other than Saitama.
What was he to do now?
After his goal had been decimated, it lacked any purpose, now.
What now?
His stomach growled. Well, the first thing he needed to do was find some shelter, then some food.
He was a fugitive. A man on the run, a man with no one and nothing.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
After some time, Garou had continued deep into the forests, trying to find a cave or, by chance, an old shack.
That was his first priority, finding food was the second, despite how hungry he felt. Finding food and eating out in the open was too dangerous without having a refuge.

Garou made his way towards some rocky terrain and a large cliff side.
There, he noticed a large slab of wood, resembling a makeshift door.
It was covering what appeared to be a mouth of a cave that was carved into the face of the mountain.
Curious, he climbed the small ways from where he stood, to the potential shelter he found.
He pushed the wooden slab open. It was dark inside until the light of dusk came flooding in.
What he found inside was not what he was expecting. Inside was completely carved out, large enough to house more than one person. Wood was carved and placed specifically to create walls, floorboards and a ceiling. The center of it was carved into to create a fire pit. A hole right above the fire pit to allow smoke to escape when lit.
It looked mildly worn, but not old enough to seem abandoned. This seemed too convenient, even for Garou. However, fatigue and hunger was eating at him.
Subconsciously desperate for rest, he dragged himself inside, pushing the makeshift door closed.
Darkness filled the room and as it did, Garou allowed himself to collapse to the floor.
He was out like a light.
A stray thought went through his mind before passing out.
Who owned this hideout?
That was answered for him when he woke up.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dazed, his vision appeared blurry. As it started to clear, he noticed two things:
One, there was a faint glow being emitted from behind him.
And two?
He was tied up.
"Wha--" confused, he shifted and sat up. The knots were intricate, to ensure that he will not escape easily. He scooted in his position and turned towards the fire pit.
When he did, he was a little surprised by who was standing there waiting for him to awake.

It was a woman. She had long, slicked back blood red hair with a signature widow's peek. Her skin was pale; her blue eyes small, but sharp with an elegant danger to them. She was wearing a sleeveless black one piece, a red sash with an 'S' on the front.
She stood there, a katana in hand.
"Who the hell are you?" Garou asked incredulously.
"I should be asking you that," her voice was calm, but was low. Clearly not happy that someone invaded her space. She lifted the tip of the blade to under his chin, making him gaze higher at her, "You must either have a lot of guts or have a death wish. Which is it?"
Garou narrowed his gaze at her, glaring.
"I thought no one lived in here. The area had no people," Garou spat.
Her eyebrow quirked, "I find that hard to believe. You must think your pretty hot stuff. Thought that even if someone lived here, you'd just take it by force, right?"
Garou gave a cheeky smirk, "You have no clue who I am, do ya?"
"Should I?" The woman countered, lowering her katana, her guard seeming to go down.
That's when Garou used whatever strength he had left, at the moment, and actually snapped the ropes holding him.
He made to lunge at her to immobilize her, however she had jumped back with amazing speed. She had planted her feet almost elegantly. Before Garou can even register how she managed to read him so quickly, he found himself suddenly frozen, "Ngh!"
What immediately followed was a massive burning. It felt like his blood was on fire, almost seizing in every vein in his body. He collapsed back onto his knees, hands bracing his weight.
He couldn't breathe. When he tried to gasp for air, he felt like he was being slashed up inside.
He threw up blood, 'What the Hell..? What...? Is she doing this?'
Straining, he tried to move his head to gaze up at her. It felt as though he wasn't in control of his own body.
The woman had a hand out, it was outlined in a glowing red light.
"Predictable," she said unimpressed and began to approach his prone body, "Now... give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you and toss your corpse off the mountain side."
Her fingertips flexed inward, which in turn made Garou gasp out. It felt like his heart was being crushed. He threw up more blood.
Scowling, blood streaming from his mouth, he wheezed, "Just...do it, already. Kill me..."
The woman's brow furrowed in confusion but her expression remained neutral, "You wish for death? Why?"
"What do you care...? I have nothing...I am nothing..." Garou strained even more as the pressure was almost too much, "I've reached my goals...there's nothing else to live for..."
Garou spat up more blood, his vision was starting cloud and tunnel, and he was ready to accept his fate. The woman stared down at him silently, almost thinking. Then, the light was gone and she lowered her hand.
Garou's body gave way as the pressure ceased. He coughed, sucking in air at the same time as his head hung low from dizziness, but his vision was slowly coming back into focus.
"Hungry?"
Garou lifted his head and stared at her, deeply confused. That's when he noticed the giant, dead bear in the far corner. His stomach growled loudly.
~
Garou ripped into the cooked bear meat ravenously, holding the bone at both ends. He had eaten both arms, already. He could easily eat way more, but the thought was dashed quickly.
"Don't even think of sneaking extras. That bear is supposed to last a little while," the woman sat at the opposite side of the fire pit, skinning the carcass.
With a mouthful of meat, he stared intently at her. Watching as she separated the raw meat from the fur and skin.
This woman was confusing to him. First, she tried to kill him. Now, she's feeding him. What's her game?
Gulping down the meat, he sat silently for a moment before speaking, "Why didn't you kill me?"
She didn't answer straight away, but the question didn't go unnoticed. She was still skinning when she replied, "You're too pathetic, that's why. I saw no point of trying to kill a dead man."
"I ain't pathetic, lady. You don't know me," Garou scowled.
She stopped, holding up the knife she had, staring at it, "Let me rephrase: I felt sorry for you. In my opinion, despite what you might think of yourself, you're much more than you realize. I'm guessing, what, rough childhood? Felt that the weak should triumph while the popular suffer instead of the other way around? Now, you're down on your luck because your dream had a bunch of holes punched in it."
Garou blinked at her. She had him pegged. Scarily so.
"And what if that is the case?" He spat, almost challenging her observation.
She finally put the knife down and looked at him, "Believe me, I know how you feel, I was there at one point. Now, I'm living in a cave."
Garou raised an eyebrow, looking disinterested, but asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Kaana. Who are you?" She asked back.
"I'm the notorious Hero Hunter. The name's Garou," he smirked confidently.
Kaana stared and replied, "Never heard of you."
The confident smirk vanished and he glared at her, "How long have you been here if you haven't even heard of me?"
"Since the slow uprising of the Monster Association. Before they started their rampage. A couple months now, I guess. I was one of the first few hostages they took to turn into a monster," Kaana explained, "I got out and I went into hiding."
"Why didn't you just go back home?" Garou questioned.
"They made me eat one of those nasty monster cells, but it appeared to not do anything. My body actually gave out. Having thought I was dead, they tossed me away like garbage. I woke up by a river. I think that monster cell altered me in some way, though."
"Are you a monster?" Garou narrowed his gaze.
Kaana shrugged, "Not sure. I can't transform or anything, but I was left with these powers. They aren't much, but they protect me."
"Are you an esper?" he guessed.
Kaana shook her head, "No. I can manipulate any form of liquid in the general vicinity. That includes the water in another body."
Garou finally put two and two together, "So, what you did earlier--you were controlling the blood in my body? How'd you learn you could do that?"
"I was attacked by a stray monster a while back. I made its head explode," Kaana told him simply.
It didn't show, but Garou was impressed.
"So, what about you?" Kaana inquired.
"Me?"
"Yes. I told you a bit about myself. What's your story?" Kaana clarified.
Garou didn't explain much, only the vital details that summed up how he ended where he was now.
~
"So, you wanted to become a monster in order to bring people together to defeat your greater evil? That way the justice served would be unbiased and bring about peace," Kaana quirked a brow, "I'd say you're more of an anti villain than a monster."
"I've hurt people--" Garou started.
"But you've never really killed anyone. Only real monsters," Kaana jumped in, "The difference between you and actual monsters, Garou, is that they lack a sense of morality and only care about what they gain through the pain of innocent people. You've only kicked the shit out of heroes to get a message across. And that one hero you told me about, pretty much told you the truth. You took the easier route and look where that got you."
Garou growled quietly, scowling at her as she resumed to finish the skinning, "Now, the question you need to start asking yourself, is what are you going to do now?"
Garou continued to glare, but thought about the question. What was he going to do now?
He couldn't go back, he'd get locked up by the Hero Association. He wasn't a monster anymore, either. He's achieved what he was aiming for. Sort of.
Now what?
Reinvent himself? Find a new purpose? How?
"Can I stay here?" He suddenly found himself asking.
Kaana put the skin in a pile when he asked this and turned to glance at him.
Silence.
"Give me something in exchange and maybe I'll let you stay," Kaana offered.
"Seriously?" Garou deadpanned, becoming irritated at the idea.
"I'm not going to let a freeloader mooch off of my kills. Make me a deal, or leave," that was Kaana's ultimatum.
Garou glanced at the floor, thinking about what he can give in order to stay.
What can he offer? He practically blurted the first thing he could think of.
"I can teach you to fight," Garou offered.
Kaana stared blankly at him, not seeing the benefits of this, "What would I do with martial arts? Smash trees?"
"You'll learn to better defend yourself if bigger threats come your way. Plus, the discipline that comes with it will help you manage your powers better," Garou explained, "Plus, with me around, I'll be able to do some of the grunt work. Hunting in the winter, for one. Bet you haven't thought of that, right?"
"Well...I guess you make a good point, hunting wise," Kaana sighed, moving to sit next to him, "Here's the deal: teach me what you know to protect myself, help me with hunting occasionally. In return, you get half the kills for meals and shelter. Sound fair?"
"Fine by me," Garou smirked, "So, when do we start?"
"Tomorrow," Kaana stated, "It's nightfall and I need to store the carcass and dry out the bear skins."