Hello, and welcome to this story of OPM with a twist. Hopefully it provides quite a few changes to how the story plays out, as well as be at least mildly entertaining.
I have quite a few ideas, most haven't even been used yet, but I decided to start with this one because it'll probably be the most different or outlandish.
Review and tell me what you think of my idea, and if it's any good or not. Criticism is welcomed and encouraged.
UPDATE: Added 3 things that for some reason didn't get FREAKIN' SAVED IN THE DOCUMENT! Nothing major, it'll just clarify those things 'slightly' more.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
-memories-
Sound Effects
POV ANNOTATIONS
Chapter 1: Conscious
? POV
Ringingingingingin-Clk
"Ugh..." A figure lazily wipes at their eyes as they let out a yawn, the grasp of sleep trying to desperately hold on, but to little avail as consciousness takes over.
They slowly but surely sit up in their bed, stretching out their limbs before pulling the blanket off of themselves.
Their eyes slowly open to look around the room. '... huh..'
First of all, they're not in their bed, but a bedroll.
Secondly, this isn't their room.
They blink a few times, their eyes growing wider with every interval. 'where the heck..'
They quickly stand up, goosebumps forming on their arms and neck as their heart begins racing.
Thoughts begin to form, trying to rationalize why they woke up somewhere that isn't their room, and figure out any reasons as to why they would be kidnapped.
The first thing they decide to do is rush over to the nearest thing that looks like it could be used as a weapon or a shield, which turns out to be a frying pan on the table?
Questions for later, survival for now.
Grabbing the frying pan, they turn on their heel, doing a 180, then again, and again making sure nothing was going to sneak up on them or attack them.
After a few moments of silence, they shakily let out a breath, still trying to keep quiet as much as possible.
Realizing they weren't in immediate danger, they give their surroundings a look over to see if anything looks familiar.
It looked like a small apartment room, with a T.V, couch, short table and the bedroll they just woke up from.
They can see the kitchen across the room, similarly simple in design.
Like a cheap apartment complex bought to house their kidnappees for selling into slavery.
They didn't like this idea, so they decided to escape, contact the authorities in anyway they can and get back home.
There was a slide glass door leading off to a balcony on the side of the room, and after learning it is unlocked, they quickly head out.
Frying pan in hand and raised, they look to either side to see if the exit was guarded by anyone.
Nothing but a cactus absorbing sunlight to their right side.
Great, now they can-... '.. what?'
Looking off the balcony they see, from what little elevation they have, a massive city.
Much bigger than anywhere they've personally been. 'Oh god, oh god where am I?'
They stumble back a bit, their heart beating hard against their chest.
Where are they?
How did they get here?
And why does this city look like it's been in some sort of natural disaster or war?
But nobody was there to answer these unspoken questions, or ease their paranoia from being placed in such a foreign environment.
They turn to go back inside quickly, eyeballing the three other doors in the room with anxious curiosity.
clik
They flip a light switch on the wall, and while everything is easy enough to see from the morning light, the added light helps clear out any lingering doubts.
They pause once the light turns on, their frying pan raised to strike at anything, or anyone, that might jump at them with promises of pain.
Yet nothing appears, not even a cockroach scurrying away from the light in a frantic panic for it's survival.
After a minute passes, they exhale in relief, practically dropping to the floor with nervous sweat covering their face.
Just where are they, and how did they get here?
In an attempt to calm themselves down and stop their head from burning and itching from the stress, they rub their hand through their hair.
Through their hair...
Where is their hair?
They feel all over their head, then face, then chest.
No hair, except for some rather thin eyebrows.
And not only that, their body type has significantly changed.
They've never been this fit before, ever.
They look around the room once more, which strikes them with a strong sense of familiarity now that they got a better look.
Wait..
Familiar room, bald head, bizarre levels of fitness, big city, bedroll..
They get up, and rush to the closest mirror they could find, which was behind one of the other doors into a bathroom.
Their mind decides to take the backseat this time, clearly unable to handle what is occurring.
Confused and shocked eyes, bald, slightly pointy chin with a rounded head...
Their reflection changes to one of utter awe.
"N.. No.. No, no no this isn't.. This can't.." They babble, stumbling backwards and falling against the bathtub with a loud thud.
They didn't even feel it.
They swallow, grasping at their chest as they begin shaking, their palms suddenly feeling sweaty and numb.
Are they really Saitama?
Is this a fever dream?
Are they dying on a hospital bed in a coma, as their brain gives them one last dream they can enjoy before departing from the world of the living?
... No, if this were a dream, then realizing it was a dream would have either ended it, or cause something crazy to happen.
Like the fact that they are Saitama.
They stand up, stumbling a bit as they slowly make their way to the balcony.
They peer off the edge, seeing that they're about on the third floor.
If this is a dream, then something this shocking would wake them up.
They climb up onto the railing, looking off the edge, feeling that queasy tightening in their gut whenever you peer off a high ledge.
They inhale sharply, holding their breath as they walk off, falling head first.
This is the most terrifying thing they have ever done, with regret instantly filling their entire being.
If this really is a dream, they'd wake up, righ-
Crrck
The pavement cracks upon impact, their body falling to the side against the cold, hard sidewalk.
They stare up at the morning sky, slowly exhaling the breathe they've been holding.
A smile slowly spreads across their face, their hand rubbing across their scalp as a tight feeling wells in their chest.
They are Saitama.
He is Saitama.
"I-I'm actually.. Ha.. Hahahah.. Hahahahahahahah!" He laughs almost maniacally, completely dumbfounded by the absurdity of the situation.
It's a childhood dream everyone had at least once in their life; to have superpowers.
To experience the strength and speed of such a being.
To do what would be deemed impossible in the real, or other, world, but most importantly..
To be a hero, to fight villainy on a day to day basis, to save countless lives and finding pleasure in the looks of relief when you show up to save the day.
I mean, who hasn't had that as an unobtainable dream they always wished would happen?
His laughing dies down as a thought enters his mind. 'I'm Saitama.. But, WHEN exactly is this?'
He gets up, wiping a few wayward tears from around his eyes.
He watched the show, read the manga, and even the original webcomic, catching up on all three types of the story and was awaiting the next update for any of them.
So it begs the question, where in the story is he?
The beginning?
Has he met Genos yet?
Vaccine man?
He still lived in the apartment, and Genos wasn't there, so it had to be within the first...
Crap, what episode was it when Genos started living with Saitama?
He sat there, thinking for a solid 5 minutes.
Crap, now it's really bothering him.
He hates it when he forgets something like this, with the answer he's looking for fading in and out, almost on the tip of his tongue a few times, or the edge of his mind.
Like a picture that's just slightly too blurry, before being splattered upon with a bucket of paint.
Definitely one of the most frustrating things your brain does from time to time.
But whatever, it doesn't matter too much.
He still remembers the story, and how everything played out, so the best thing to do would be to probably watch the news...
He stands up, looking up towards the balcony he fell off of.
... Nah, he wants to try something out first.
He looks at the surrounding buildings, peering up at the edge of the roof with a wide grin.
Jumping up there should be easy, but maybe he needs to learn to control it first.
After all, with great power comes great responsibility. 'Leap over tall buildings in a single bound, right supes?'
He prepares to jump, bending his knees, then..
Stops. 'No, this is dangerous. I should start off easy first'
He lifts one leg, and hops on one foot.
About 2 feet, but there wasn't really any effort put into it. 'Obviously'
With a few more bounces, gaining a few feet here and there, he gets the gist of how it's going to work.
He plants both feet down, bends his knees just slightly this time and leaps for the roof.
And greatly over shots it.
"Woahcrap, no no no! Hwah! Too high, t-too highhhchimama!" He panics, flailing his arms helplessly in the air as he makes for a landing on the roof, 4 buildings away.
THMB CRRCKK
"Hhih!... Hhwah.. Hahh.." He sits on a ventilation pipe a few feet away from where he landed, his face drenched from the almost heart attack he put himself through just then.
Okay, maybe he doesn't get the gist of how it works at all.
Or any idea on how bad the landing would be.
What with the roof almost caving in and a noticeable crater that surprisingly doesn't look out of place, as there are 3 other craters of similar size on the roof.
Probably from a monster attack, or this just so happens to be a roof Saitama jumped to when looking for monsters.
But that'd be impossible, right?
He takes another look around the city from this now higher vantage point.
Man, it seems much bigger than in the show, almost scary even with how large it is.
He'd definitely need to get a map, or something.
It'd suck if he got lost and couldn't find his way back home.
But, at the same time that sounds unlikely.
It'd seem simple enough to find his way back, just mark it on a map or something.
And even if he does get lost, he can simply ask for direc-
Wait..
He speaks English, and the original Language was in Japanese.
He doesn't know Japanese, and the entire world speaks Japanese and Japanese only.
Oh no..
This might be the first time he wished it to be the dubbed version.
He looks off the side of the roof, seeing that the drop is much further than the third story he fell off of.
"Come on.. It's easy, this isn't going to hurt at all.. There is no way this will hurt, or be hard to land, or anything.. Just.. Just fall, man.. Come on.." He tries to encourage himself, but it is very hard to do so even when you know no harm will come to you.
Just natural instinct or something.
He steps off the edge, planning to land on his feet this time.
The experience is still terrifying, but at the same time energizing.
This must be what skydiving feels like.
Thndck
The sidewalk cracks beneath him, and his feet sink into the concrete a good 3 inches.
"... Hhhiiih!" He clenches his fists in front of him, a smile of child-like happiness on his face as he lets out a high pitched squeal. 'This is awesome! Oh my freakin'.. What do I do, what can I do?!'
He shakes his head, slapping the side of his face to get rid of the adrenaline flooding his veins.
He looks down at his feet, then back up to the roof he jumped off of. 'This is just incredible..'
He decides to stop dilly dallying about and finds his way back to the front of his apartment complex.
He looks up at his balcony, then down at his feet. 'Okay, do it much easier this time.. Or, slowly.. Yeah, that makes sense! Just do it more slowly, don't worry about strength'
He bends his knees, and leaps 'slowly' towards the lip of the balcony.
He over shots, but manages to land on the balcony just above his own, which was rather easy to get back on his floor.
It feels crazy to lift yourself up, and not even feel your own weight.
Almost disorienting, actually.
He quickly gets inside his room, shutting the sliding door behind him. 'Okay, now where's the.. Aha!'
He quickly finds the T.V remote on the edge of the table, grabbing it and turning on the T.V once he did.
"-cials say, quote, that despite the increase in monster and mysterious being activity in multiple cities, the casualty rate has stayed the same and even decreased in certain areas due to the increase in heroes and their expertise in the matter, end quote. The head of the heroes association recruitment process in City D has thi-" He listened, staring dumbly at the screen.
He can understand them.
The news reporter is definitely speaking Japanese, but he can understand them.
Is this going to be like one of those weird stories he read before where the person speaks a language they don't even know, but understands what they're saying anyways because the person this body belongs to understood it?
He narrows his eyes, and despite feeling dumb for trying, decides to test it.
"Hello, my name is Saitama and I like udon noodles, probably." He says.
In Japanese.
It was like second nature, just thinking about something to say and speaking transformed his words to their original owners language.
Bizarre.
Why didn't he notice this before?
Was it because he understood himself, so he didn't question anything? 'This is some freaky psychedelic shiii-taki, man'
But now he wants to try and force himself to say something in English, and see how it sounds.
"I am totally not from some parallel universe or anything, honest." He says.
And it was in English.
However, it felt like he couldn't or shouldn't understand it, which is weird.
It's like knowing the answer to a puzzle because you done it before, or made it.
But if you look at it from a distance, it's unrecognizable.
He knew what he said, but if he heard someone else say it, he wouldn't have a clue what it meant.
Which is stupidly bizarre and it's giving him a headache.
But the fact he is in a fictional world in the first place is much more bizarre.
How did this even happen, and how is it possible?
Did he actually die, and when you die you just pop up in another universe as a fictional character relative to the world you're from?
Was he, before he became Saitama, just a fictional character to a different world, with different stories and different fiction all on their own?
That, by looking at his original world, would think such a thing would be impossible or just way too bizarre?
His bland, pointless little life?
What an existential crisis inducing thought.
The news breaks him out of his stupor, calling upon his undivided attention.
"-ets hope that everything goes over smoothly. Now, back to you, Gintsuki." The reporter said, before the camera switched over to a well-dressed man at a desk with a picture of two men to his right.
"Thank you, Sakanokyu. More reports have come in about the recent Mosquito outbreak that has plagued the many cities caught in the swarm's path. Our lead reporter, Tasuketashi, will be interviewing an Entomologist, who is an expert on the subject." He smiled at this.
He definitely knows where he is lore-wise now. 'Oh man, I can't wait to me- oh, that's right! Gotta water the cactus'
He gets up, still listening to the T.V as he finds a familiar green elephant watering can.
"What could be the cause of the massive mosquito outbreak this year? We ask Mr. Kafetch, a mosquito expert who has written several books on the subject." He finds the watering can and begins filling it at the sink, making him feel like he's part of some live action version of the show. 'Everything is going exactly the same. Man, this is insanity...'
"Thank you for having me. Well, let me get right to the point. These mosquitoes belong to an entirely new species unlike any before. Therefore, I know nothing about them." He finishes filling up the watering can and walks over to the T.V to watch what they have to say, a smile plastered on his face all the while.
"Get out!"
"Koff-ahem. Ah, excuse me. Now, let's take a look at the areas likely to be hit hardest by the outbreak. As you can see here, the swarm will be moving from City-B to Cit-" The video cuts out and is replaced by the well-dressed man from before.
"We interrupt this program for breaking news." The man says with haste.
"A large swarm of mosquitoes have been sighted in City Z. Mummified remains of attacked farm animals have also been found. If you encounter a swarm of mosquitoes, flee immediately. I repeat, if you encounter a large swarm of mosquit-" He exits out onto the balcony, looking out to the city once over, before getting to work.
As he waters the cactus, his mind is thinking, planning on future events. 'Almost time. Man, what should I say? Do I do what he did in the show? No, no.. I don't think I'd be capable of keeping a straight face.. If I am to become his teacher... maybe I can actually teach him something useful, and not mislead him like Saitama done so many times. Maybe actually give him the mentoring he needs. Do I act overly wise, or just as I am? Oh geez, what if I screw up and he is the one that pays for it? That'd really suck.. I gotta be better than that. I will be better than that. Because I hav- eh?'
He gets pulled out of his thoughts when a mosquito lands on his hand.
A wicked and devious grin spreads across his face as he watches the mosquito get in position to bite him. 'Oh yeah, almost forgot about this little bugger. Now, if I swat it, would it actually live like in the show, or was that a gag?'
He raises his hand, his eyes wide open, watching the mosquito like a hawk watching a wounded rabbit. 'There's no way I can actually miss, right? That'd be ridiculous... right?'
He sharply inhales.
WhBumf
He smacks his hand on the top of his other hand, a bit harder than what was done in the show, as his windows vibrated from the shockwave.
His eyes are practically bulging out of his head as he raises his hand to look. '... Oh..'
The mosquito is extremely dead, with only black specks marking that it has even existed at all. 'Must've been a gag, then.. But if that was a gag, then what else will be?'
He ponders for a bit, before remembering that this is close to the time where he is supposed to be chasing that mosquito.
"Ah, crap! I don't know where they're fighting!" He gets up, and looks off the balcony for any indication.
. . . '.. Aha!'
He spots a few lights appearing across the city in short bursts, with what sounds like light thunder shortly after. 'Perfect!'
He lifts himself up on the railing to leap off it, when suddenly he remembers something that freezes him in his tracks.
Or rather, he remembers something he doesn't know.
He rushes back inside, and leaves out the front door.
"Where is it, where is- Ah." The number to his apartment room. '188, okay. Easy.'
It would have been real awkward when Genos asks him where he lives, and he literally didn't know.
He then jumps down to see what street it is on. 'Okay, this says Z-68th St., and this one Z-54th St... 68, 54.. 188, 68, 54.. I live in the apartment complex by the corner of 68th street and 54th street, my apartment number is... 180.. eighty.. uh..'
"Damn it!" He quickly walks back up to his apartment room, a hurried look on his face. '188. Okay, corner of, uh, 68th and 54th street. Apartment 188.. 188..'
He flips through the numbers a few times in his head until he is sure he'll remember them, and then sets off towards the explosions he saw from before.
"Okay, this is easy. Just gotta go, and... smack her before he blows himself up. Oh god, I hope the real life versions of the monsters I'll be fighting don't give me a heart attack from fear!" A few beads of sweat form on his forehead as he runs in the general direction of the fight, his anxiety already starting to spike. 'I gotta get used to facing monsters. This won't do if I'm the strongest hero, but I'm too scared to fight!'
As more troubling thoughts creep into his mind, his body closes in on the waging battle between bug and machine, soon to change the fate of the world, forever.
'188, 68, 54, 188, 68, 54, 188, 68, 54!'
And that's all she wrote!
I hope you enjoyed the beginning of this tale, and I want to hear your thoughts on my idea. Any feedback is much appreciated and encouraged, like always!
Until next time!