The sound of sniffles reached Garou's ears. He turned towards the center of the school yard.
There was a small figure in thee distance, sitting in the dirt.
Garou, brows furrowed, started to walk closer. The closer he got, the more the sound of crying became clearer. Just as he got with a couple feet, he halted, eyes widening at who he was staring at.
A little boy, wearing a white T-shirt; shorts and white shoes. But one trait stuck out to Garou that made him question what was going on. This little boy's hair stood in two stumpy prongs and was white.
'Holy shit. It's me,' Garou blinked, 'But...why am I here?'
His younger self just continued to cry, his hands pressed into his eyes. His back was to Garou, so the little boy didn't even notice him. Seeing this pitiful display made a sadness grow in Garou's heart, and this compelled him to finally speak, "Hey."
"Huh?" blearily through his tears, the young boy turned to look to see who addressed him. When he turned to see this hulking stranger he had never met before, his eyes turned wide and he gasped. He nearly fell backwards, his little arms holding him up as he faced Garou.
"Wh-Who are you? What do you want?" his younger self's voice trembled with uncertainty and fear. There was no sliver of confidence in his tone, whatsoever.
Garou frowned, seeing the scared little boy he once was, was a rude awakening, "Why are you crying, kid?"
The younger Garou blinked at him, his stray tears drying, but he reached up to wipe them away, anyway, "I-I'm not crying. Just got dirt in my eyes, that's all."
Garou raised a brow at this obvious lie. However, the more he looked, the more he could see the scratches and dirt on his face. He remembered those injuries well.
"You got kicked in the face, didn't you?" The young boy paused and looked at him again, "Want to tell me who did it?"
Young Garou's face seemed to sour at the question, "Why does it matter? Tatsu won't get in trouble, he's popular and I'm a loser. No one wants to listen to a loser monster."
'Wow. I really had no self esteem. This is weird, seeing myself from this angle,' Garou crouched to the little boy's level.
"You say he's popular, but really, he's just a bully," Garou told him, keeping his tone even. Young Garou eyed him, his eyes almost trying to search for some type of deception in this man's comment. No one has ever wanted to see Tatsu for the person he really was because he was popular, so he wasn't sure if this man was just toying with him.
"It doesn't matter if he's a bully, everyone else likes him and when he plays the hero, he always wins. Why do the hated lose while the popular kids win? It isn't fair! How come I always have to be the one that loses?! Is that why I'm always the monster?! The monsters should be able to win, too! They don't let anyone get in their way of what they want!! They fight just as hard, too!! I want to show them all!! I'll make them listen with fear and change the narrative!! I'll show them all that a monster can win!!" his voice rose with every sentence he spewed, his tone turning into spite and rage, tears forming anew.
Garou blinked at the boy. Hearing this from an outside perspective made him realize just how twisted his logic was. Associating the popular and hated with heroes and monsters was probably the most toxic way to handle the situation. Still, he had to remind himself that this was still, technically, himself he was interacting with.
"Do you even hear yourself?" Garou had to say something. He couldn't allow this to continue and let this way of thinking further poison his younger self, "You're letting a bias system in school dictate how you should handle the situation. Being a monster won't change the narrative for you, it'll only serve to have you killed."
"You don't know that!!" Young Garou yelled at him, "Monsters always lose because they're hated!! Just like how everyone hates me! Why shouldn't I be the monster that proves them all wrong?! Just like on TV, the monster is always fighting for a cause while the popular hero kills him because he's hated by society!!"
"It's a TV show!" Garou snapped back at the kid, "News flash, kid: TV and reality are completely different! Monsters in real life? They don't fight for any cause, except to bring pain and destruction to innocent people! They kill people for no reason at all! In fact, they enjoy it! Monsters have no humanity and only care about how they benefit from their greed and the power they have to hurt others! Do you want to kill people, is that it?!"
"What?! N-no!! I..." Young Garou faltered, a look of horror in his eyes at the very suggestion of killing people, "I...I just want people to hear the side of the weak! I want to be the symbol that strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies!"
"Striking fear into the hearts of your enemies. Now, does that sound like the words of a monster, or the words of a hero?"
Young Garou's eyes widened as the implication of the question dawned on him. Garou can see the anger dissipate as his younger self's shoulders slumped, "I...can't be a hero..." he looked down, his eyes glazed over in denial.
"Why not? Because people say you can't? Fuck what those people think," Garou's words made the little boy look up at him, "They don't decide who you are and what you want to be! Your path is for you to take control of, not anyone can tell you otherwise! If you want to be a hero, you need to stand up on your own two feet because ain't no one is going to want to help you! You know that better than anyone! You can't let fear stop you! You got to get strong on your own!"
"But...it's so hard and people don't wanna to listen. How can I make a change if people don't wanna listen?" Young Garou asked, his voice small.
"Sorry, kid, but that's how it works. Life is unfair, and it sucks. It's never supposed to be easy to do the right thing for the right reasons. That's why most people give up and turn to darker paths. Why they become monsters," Garou then remembered Saitama's words, "Choosing the way of a monster's easier, but it will only serve as a death sentence. I know you have the will to do the right thing and you know what the ideal hero is supposed to be like. Be that ideal hero you want to show to the world and change the system."
"But..." Young Garou looked to be on the verge of crying again, "How will I know I'm making a difference if it's so hard?"
"Because the end result will make that hardship worth it," Garou said, suddenly remembering his family and the happy life he has now. He worked hard for that life, "Look, I get it. It's scary and you feel like the world is against you. You need to find your own strength to rise above the standards and limitations that people want to force on you. You don't gotta be the monster everyone is painting you to be. You can be more than that title because that's all that it is--a title. Same thing with being a hero. Just because someone holds the title of a hero, it's their actions that make them one. Tatsu is no hero. In fact, he's the one that's the monster. You need to win against people like him in order to become the true hero you want to be."
Young Garou seemed to just stare at him in awe at his speech, never having anyone speak to him that way. Giving him hope.
YOU ARE READING
Two Sides to Every Coin (OPM Garou x OC)
Fanfiction(TRILOGY TO FAMILY IS CHAOS) A person's past make them who they are. But who they become because of it is up to them. That can be said for two people who met by chance. Both outcasts, both tangled up in their doubts and fears. Both painted to be wha...
