It was a friendly spar of sorts. A disagreement, perhaps. It happened often enough. When grocery shopping. Hunting monsters. Taking a quiet stroll through the abandoned city whenever Saitama wasn't around.
And then he would appear, the ninja with the redundant name.
Truthfully, he had no real ill towards Sonic and his ways of life, besides the obvious villainous lifestyle. He saw him as merely another obstacle to overcome in order to achieve his goals. Of course, unknowing to the true nature of Genos' thoughts, the ninja would happily oblige.
He would disrupt the day, with a one liner, or swift and silent attack. Once, he even went as far as knocking the groceries out of Genos' hands, shattering the eggs in the egg carton. Genos was not pleased with that disruption. He could handle anything else, unless it involved the food he had to get, specifically for his sensei.
Then it went too far.
Their battles usually began with some insults thrown at each other, followed up by threats, then ending with a little violence. That, or Sonic decides to postpone the fight until a later time. Either way is fine for Genos. He can practice his techniques, while Sonic can show off his speed once more. Not once in all their encounters had Genos been able to match Sonic in speed. Caught up for a short time, sure, but Sonic just speeds up. He always can go just that little bit faster. It was infuriating, to say in the least. Of course, their battles never got to the point where they actually manage to damage the other side badly. A few bruises, maybe a scratch for Sonic at most. Genos usually lost half his clothing, not that he cared, and once damaged his wrist when he miscalculated Sonic's strength.
He never made the mistake again.
This particular day, Sonic struck up conversation about the recent influx of monsters.
"A strange cat-like monster burst into my room last night and I have to say, I would have much rather it was you. At least you have a face that's somewhat easy on the eyes." Sonic said with a laugh. As if calling your enemy 'easy to look at' was funny.
"There haven't been any monsters particularly close to Saitama-sensei's apartment. Perhaps they're attracted to your idiocy. I hear that people with a lower IQ tend to attract the wrong kind of crowd." Genos replied, a hint of a smirk in his voice. Sonic clucked his tongue and jumped down from the pole he stood on. His long scarf trailed behind him, like a thin, fragile pair of wings.
"Then I can't imagine why they aren't hanging around here. I mean, there's two of you here. Twice the attraction." Sonic said with a shrug. He crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Genos with a pointed look.
"Anyway, I merely came to ask if you also noticed the monsters. I'll have to push this match back a few days while I keep those vermin out of my stuff." Genos shook his head at him.
"No monsters here. I do regular scans."
Sonic blew out a puff of air. "Well, you guys just got lucky. If you lived where actual people lived, you probably wouldn't be so lucky."
"I've been meaning to ask. How does living with people feel? Do they know to bow before you or cower in fear?" Genos mocked, sliding his hands into his jeans pockets. Sonic rolled his eyes at him.
"I'll leave you guessing. See ya." He sent a single wave at the cyborg, then vanished.
Genos looked up at the sky, noting how dark it had gotten. The sun was almost set, so low that the sky was a brilliant purple-orange. He hurried back, keeping his eyes out for any straying monsters.
Saitama didn't return home that night, but left a note on the fridge stating he was staying at The King's place for 'extensive training'. There was a badly drawn smiley face at the end. Genos took the note down, saving it in a safe place. He made himself a brisk dinner, then read a book for a while.
Within an hour, he was restless. His scanners had picked up nothing in the vicinity, and he didn't encounter anything on his run home. Besides, he was certain he'd be able to take down any monsters that came his way. He was equipped for it. He placed the book back, then made his exit, making sure to lock the door. He decided to just take a stroll around the abandoned city. Go places he hadn't really had a chance to go.
His walk took him through many strangely broken down buildings, many back alleys long forgotten, through fences that were no longer standing. He went through someone's home, completely by accident, as the top half of the building was missing, with the bricks of the walls crumbling at a touch. He stopped only when he reached a tall building, an apartment complex, which looked untouched by the madness surrounding it. Without hesitation, he entered the building, determined to reach the top, and began his ascent. The staircase seemed endless and it was when he had reached the 10th floor that he thanked his metal limbs for never tiring out. Some of the stairs creaked when stepped on, but most of them made no sound, as if made that exact second for Genos to walk over.
He took a short break at the 13th floor, deciding to investigate a room or two. The first room he went into was a bust. Empty save for a single couch. The window was closed. The next room was more refurbished, with a couch and a broken television, a tall reading lamp in the corner and a pot plant near the window. Said window was shattered, a few shards of glass clinging to the frame and jutting out at strange angles. In the kitchen, there was no fridge, but there was a bag of extremely old mouldy bread sitting in the sink. Genos decided against investigating the kitchen further and turned back to the window, pulling a shard from the frame and throwing it out into the desolate and destroyed landscape below. He leaned his arms on the windowsill, and stared outside, at the crumbled buildings and forgotten city.
In the darkness of the night, everything looked grey, old, unimportant, like background white noise. He couldn't believe that this was once a flourishing place, filled with people and joy. All demolished by monsters, creatures, demons. All thought to be still living here. An impossible thought, when one such as Saitama lived in this city.
One punch would topple even the largest and toughest of monsters. With one punch, Saitama could take out an army, and more. So much more.
He wondered if that's what happened. If perhaps Saitama was the partial, if not main cause of the collateral damage to the ruined city. He almost lost himself in his thoughts when he heard a voice from above. He froze, his first instinct to fight first, question later, but he hesitated when he noticed the voice was singing. A sweet tune, that carried through the air, so melodious, yet it carried a hint of sadness, woven within the web of notes that poured from the mouth of the singer.
Genos pulled himself away from the window, turning and swiftly, quietly, continuing up the last 2 flights of stairs until he reached the rooftop. The door was open, held by a stack of bricks. There was a slight breeze up there, that shook the door lightly, but with no threat of pushing it closed.
Genos stepped through the doorway, following the voice, and turned to the tune to find someone he didn't expect.
The long purple scarf fluttered in the breeze, held afloat by imaginary strings when the wind died down. His hair was out, long, and swinging around his shoulders. He was standing, facing the city of ruins, and pouring his heart out in a powerful ballad, with words Genos could not comprehend. He dared not get closer, to the man with the angelic voice, who happened to be his enemy. He stayed near the door, watching, listening, as Sonic flowed through the song, reaching perfected notes of a song practiced a thousand times.
He knew not how long he stood there, but it had felt like an eon when Sonic had finally finished his piece, placing a hand over his chest on the last note. The silence after was comforting, and welcoming.
The wind died down again, this time coming to a complete stop, and Genos made the mistake of shifting his stance, his shoes making crunching sounds on the crushed rock and rubble under.
Sonic turned in a flash and had his sword drawn, ready to finish whoever it that had dared interrupt him. He hesitated when he noticed Genos, then pulled the sword up higher, prepared.
"How did you find me?" Sonic hissed, his voice now so very different to his song voice, as if they were two different entities. Genos held up his hands.
"I didn't. I ended up here completely by accident. Do you sing often?" He asked, taking a few steps closer. Sonic tightened his grip on his blade, his face taking on a brilliant shade of deep pink, not matching his expression of anger at all.
"If you're here to taunt me, I don't want to join in. In fact, I was just leaving."
"No wait!" Genos called as the ninja sheathed his sword. He stopped, waiting.
"I… I liked it. Your singing. Stay. Sing some more. I… I wanna hear your voice." Genos said, feeling like an utter loser as each word tumbled from his lips. He thought Sonic was about to decline and leave when he heard a sigh and saw Sonic take up his stance, facing the world, his back to Genos.
"You can… stay for a while, I guess." the ninja replied, indicating for Genos to come closer, which he happily obliged, taking up his seat on the hard concrete rooftop at Sonic's side.
Sonic took in a deep breath, then, slowly, his music poured out from his lips once more, with lyrics Genos didn't understand. He was pulled through many emotions, controlled by whatever Sonic sang, whatever emotion he used. He sang loud, and soulful, for his small audience of his enemy, Genos, and the abandoned civilization below.