Breaking the Barrier (Saitama x Tatsumaki)

Immoral

Hello there! I am aware that there was no intro or outro to the chapter last time, and I wanted to see how that would work because it was sort of an experimental chapter! I hope you guys liked it.

That being said, this'll just be another chapter and after the next few chapters I'll probably be getting back to normal writing where I'm just writing normal stuff that I'm just writing!

Additional important (?) note: Of course, I use ~~~ to signal like a change in scenery or perspective, and sometimes when I edit it can get a bit confusing in terms of what I italicize, and this goes for whenever I transfer chapters to other platforms (Wattpad, Fanfic.net, Ao3), so I'll be using ~~~ to signal a change in perspective while /// represents a change in either scenery or a flashback. Thanks!

Initial Release Date: October 15, 2020

~~~

"Garou. You are talking about being low?" Glasses spits out, seething. "You have no idea how it feels as a hero to witness the disservices you've done upon humanity! You have no morals! You have no understanding of what the world actually is!"

"What, do you think I'm not a human? There's a reason I'm called the Human Monster," Garou scoffs. "Don't shoot. I'm going to help Tareo after this fight, okay? He's got a few bullies and I'm planning to bring it up with the principal of Salt Middle School after this. Don't even try to get in the way of this, though. It's his battle and I'm helping him."

That's odd, honestly. I, even before I was a cyborg, could not imagine somebody taking such a task for somebody else other than family. From what we know, and from what Bang has informed me about, Garou has no family other than his mother who he still keeps in contact with. Unfortunately, his father had died a few years into his adulthood.

And for a little child who clearly isn't related to him? There must be a reason for this.

Perhaps the Hero Hunter is more human than I initially believed him to be.

"Tch. You think you can try to redeem yourself by helping out this little kid?" Death Gatling grunts. "Do not think your crimes will be forgiven."

"And they aren't. That's not the point of this, dumbass," Garou interrupts. "Wait, that gives me an idea. Tareo!"

"Y-Yes?" I hear the kid whisper quietly, quieter than what is most likely audible to some of the heroes.

The tone Garou uses is softer than what I expect from such a cruel man, one far more sympathetic, "Look, Tareo. It's the guys from your catalogue." In an instant, I see the child's head whip up, almost in disbelief. It's quite the shock to the heroes as well, seeing somebody as notorious as Garou be so kind and gentle to someone in such distress.

"You know each and every one of these guys, right? They're the ones who'll keep you safe at night," Garou recalls.

There's a gasp from the child. Tareo, it seems. There's a little bit of silence from everyone there. Garou out of understanding, Tareo out of excitement, and the heroes and I in complete shock.

That's when I realized what was going on within Garou's mind.

Or at least, what I theorize to have been what had happened.

Garou doesn't care about who he fights, necessarily. He isn't trying to make a point that he's strong or that all heroes are bad. He even seems to care about what people have hope in and want to keep pushing forward for.

He thinks that he's actually helping people do that.

That's quite the interesting take on the matter, actually. Usually, when people do it, they believe that their method is the only correct way and they'd disregard all other means. I admit, I used to be that way before I met Saitama-Sensei.