"Heroes are good."

A hand slid over my bare thigh, the other clawing at my shirt.

"Heroes are good."

Chains dug into my wrists and ankles, the gag around my mouth painfully tight.

"Heroes are good."

The man in front of me grinned, our faces a breadth apart. His messy hair was slightly damp from the sweat he had accumulated during the fight with the monster, that now laid dead in the street. Tears pricked at my eyes as his fingers slowly crawled up my leg, almost touching my underwear now.

"HEROES ARE GOOD!!!"

"Hey, baby, we're going to my place after this, alright?" I wanted to scream, shake my head furiously, kick him away from me, but I was chained by both steel and fear. My heart was beating out of my chest as he finally ripped off the tatters of my shirt, leaving my bra completely exposed. "Please... Heroes are supposed to be good... So, why?"

His hand reached for my boob, my eyes squeezed shut with horror, when I felt the pressure release from my shoulders. Hesitantly, I let my eyelids flutter open, a muscular young man with grey hair standing before me. "So I hear that you're the newest addition to A-class! What was your name again..." He tapped his chin, an almost comical expression on his face. Snapping his fingers, his yellow iris lit up. "That's right! Iron Chain!"

The hero struggled out of the trash that he had been thrown into, glowering at the man. "What's it to you?! I was in the middle of something, you know!" He gestured to me, clearly too upset to be cautious. The man looked at me, his eyes getting wide when he saw my state, like he was noticing me for the first time.

We held eye contact, the guy careful not to look anywhere else on my body. "Hey, miss, did this guy do that to you?" I was too much in shock to do anything, terrified to know what would happen to both of us if I nodded. When he saw me hesitate, a big grin became plastered on his face, revealing his teeth; a few of them looked pointed, but the smile made me feel at ease.

"Don't worry about a thing," He licked his lips, backing into a fighting stance. "This just gives me more reason to tear this guy limb from limb!" Iron Chain brought out his weapons, ready to respond to the attack. The man jumped into battle, the smirk from earlier still on his face.

He was almost too fast for my eyes to keep up with, bouncing around the alleyway with the agility of an acrobat. Iron Chain only got a couple hits on him, but I could practically hear the man's bones cracking from the pressure of a steel ball colliding with his body. Still, he seemed almost unaffected, continuing the fight as though nothing was wrong.

My mind drifted to the moments before he came; I was simply trying to get my groceries for the week when the monster showed up. Normally, I would ignore such villains and go about my way, but today this one decided to talk to me. I responded politely, simply keeping up the conversation when Iron Chain showed up. Insisting that I was some sort of damsel in distress, he defeated the monster.

"I saved your life." He had told me, grinning with pride while I glanced around at the deserted streets. I halfheartedly thanked him, quite sure that I had been fine, not that it mattered. The monster had been rampaging beforehand, so it was a villain. I suppose that it deserved to be punished. "Aren't you going to offer me a reward?" Iron Chain had asked me while I considered his thought process to be very childish.

"I'm sorry... I don't really have anything to give you..." I tried to explain to him, but he pushed on. "Oh, I can think of one thing."

The fight ended in no longer than ten minutes, the grey haired man walking away, the same smile on his face. My mouth was dry, tears dripping down my face by now. He left the alley without giving me a second glance, Iron Chain left limp in a heap of boxes.

I couldn't do anything except sit there, my heart pounding wildly while my tears mixed in with the sweat that poured down my forehead. The sound of footsteps brought my attention back to the front of the alleyway, the sliver of light being blocked out by a silhouette.

"Hey there!" The gray haired man from before had come back, a parcel now in his hands. "Sorry I had to leave so suddenly, it was faster that way." He bent down, breaking open the package to reveal a large hoodie, shaking it out with a bashful smile. "Couldn't let you walk around like that, now could I. It's not much, but this should suffice, right?"

"Clothes... He brought me some clothes..."

"I want this back, though. You got it?" He began to undo my gag while I nodded my head meekly. The second it was off, I gasped for air, my chest heaving. "Tha... Thank you..." I bowed my head down as much as I could. "L-L-Look, there's no need for that!" His voice was no longer the cocky tone like before, but rather something much more innocent. I glanced up to see him with a slight dusting of pink over his face.

When our eyes met, he glanced away, scratching the side of his face. "Listen, it's not like I rushed in here to save you. I was just after that hero is all."

"But you did save me." My voice was close to breaking, the realization of it all finally registering. "Thank you so much, really." He huffed, the blush turning a little darker. "It's nothing, alright?" Leaning close, he tenderly took my wrists and grabbed one of the chains. "Now let me know if this hurts." Using as much caution as he could, he began to pull at the chains.

I felt the links around my wrists get tighter and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from yelping. Chink! The tension was released, my bindings falling away and rattling on the cement floor. I stared at him in awe, his raw power beyond what I thought was possible for a human. "Was that okay?" I nodded in response, rubbing my wrists as he did the same thing to my ankles.

He easily snapped the steel chains, tossing them to the side. Without a word, he handed me the black hoodie, politely turning around, more so as a gesture than anything. I tugged it on, glad to see that it was almost to my knees. The rest of it completely covered me, almost making it seem like I was drowning in fabric.

I timidly tapped on his shoulder and he turned around, peeking through his fingers. When he saw my state, he grinned, letting out a sigh. "Well, I guess my work here is done."

"Wait!" I grabbed onto his wrist before he could walk off, but my confidence quickly drained when those yellow eyes locked on me. "I... Umm, I know it's not much, but you got a couple wounds, didn't you?" He instinctively placed a hand on his side where the iron ball had hit him. "Why?"

"Because," I looked down at my palms before meeting his gaze again. "I can heal them for you." He quirked an eyebrow, glancing at my small hands. "Really?"

"Yeah, but it might get kinda weird..."

"By all means, be my guest." He lifted his arm, exposing the injured area, completely serious. Taking a deep breath, I pressed my hands against the area, a warm glow emitting from them. Every detail of his injuries became clear to me; running my fingers along any of the finer areas, I cleared away all the damage, from fractures to bruises. I ran my hands across his body, my fingers landing softly against his cheek, healing the last scrape.

We stared at each other until my face became uncomfortably warm. Retracting my hand, I waved my arms around wildly. "Ah! I'm sorry!" He let out a small chuckle, lightly touching the spot where my fingers last were. "It actually worked. Thanks for that."

"No problem, it's the least I could do." There was a beat of silence before the guy started to walk off again. This time I followed him, hesitantly glancing behind us. "Is it really okay to just leave him there?" The man stopped turning around to face me completely; a wild grin was on his face, those piercing yellow iris practically glowing. "I don't think that you get this, sweetie, but I'm no good guy."

"You're a good guy to me!" At my response, his eyebrows arched followed by a dry laugh. "Interesting that you'd say that after watching me do that to a man." He gestured to body and guilt rippled through my stomach after hearing that; it's true, Iron Chain's still body was there for anyone to see, the flies already starting to circulate. "Well..."

"Listen. You don't have to feel bad. I didn't hunt him for you. I hunted him because I wanted to." His eyes narrowed playfully, my mouth going dry. "But I guess that doesn't change the fact that I saved you, huh. Maybe, even though I'm a monster, that doesn't make me a bad guy?" He laughed again, his eyes flashing.

"A monster?" I tilted my head to the side; when I healed him, he was very much human. "Yeah, I guess it's time I officially introduce myself." He stuck out a hand, that winning smile still on his face. "I'm Garou, Garou the monster."

"Y/n... The human, I guess." I gave him my hand with a slight giggle. His hands were huge compared to mine, his palms calloused, yet warm and comforting. They felt so raw and real that I found it hard to believe that he just attacked someone with the same hands. But I knew that if I turned around Iron Chain would still be laying there in a pile of trash, bloody and bruised.

Our handshake lingered for a bit longer than it should have, both of us hesitantly pulling away at the same time. "Well, Y/n, I'll see you around. Next time we meet, remember, I want that back." Garou pointed at the black hoodie that I was wearing and I nodded obediently. He grinned, giving me a quick wink. "See ya!"

My walk home was one spent deep in thought, mostly about Garou. Iron Chain's maimed body wouldn't leave my mind except when I was thinking about the handsome young male. I know that his actions were wrong, but, at the same time, they were kind of right; he saved me from being raped and I knew that for a fact. Even discounting that, he freed me from my chains and even bought me something to wear. He isn't a bad person at heart. Is that justifiable? Is that even possible?!

A sigh escaped my lips, the sky above me as clouded as my mind. The idea of grocery shopping now was laughable, so I decided on ordering takeout instead. I walked by a window, my reflection staring back, allowing me to read the words on the hoodie clearly for the first time; in bright yellow font was the kanji for demon. I chuckled softly at how well the word fit Garou, still unsure of how to feel about the whole situation. I glanced up at the grey sky, small droplets of rain starting to fall. "Hey, auntie, how would you feel about this?"