*Will Contain Spoilers and loose references for Webcomic/Manga content. Proceed at own risk.
*Disclaimer and Author's Note at bottom of the chapter.
*Cover artwork isn't mine. Credit goes to the artist.
It was a peaceful day in City-A, the sun shone brightly and the sky was a brilliant shade of blue with sparse, fluffy white clouds moving across. Though the scenic view was beautiful, there weren't a lot of people in the city to appreciate. Well, there were a handful of people, but they were busy bodies. Workers, department heads and grunts alike were always on their feet within the headquarters located in the center of the city.
The citizens residing in the various buildings scattered around the sparse, grey area were various A-Class heroes and almost all of the S-Class heroes. They were a group of the stronger heroes, though when gauging a threat, S-Class heroes pulled rank in most situations. Those that weren't deemed beneath them at least. In one of the A-Class apartment buildings, on the upper level of the two-story building, there was one that housed the strongest being in this region of the earth.
Of course, he was practically sitting right under nearly everyone's noses. Very few people knew of the extent of his abilities, having seen it for themselves. Fewer respected him for it. Though no one knew of the true power he held, maybe not even the man himself. For he could never go all out, never having the need to do so or the opponent able to withstand anything more than what he has deemed his Normal Series which only took a small amount of effort.
Though he often had to dial even that back, for not every opponent he faced was a Mysterious Being, some were humans, everyday heroes who had deemed them unworthy of his rank and standing within the association. Heroes didn't like being outranked. Saitama however, paid no heed, he went up in leaps and bounds. Because of this he was often named a cheat and a fake, even within the Hero Association, the people had their doubts. Though he had scored perfectly on the physical exam, going so far to set otherwise unattainable records; some workers regarding the man as a God residing within a human body even.
They still turned a blind eye to his feats, not realizing that he had managed near impossible feats with a single punch. Or in the case of what was now coined as the Dark Matter event, punches. But they didn't know of the circumstances. If one were to ask the powerhouse what he had done to hold the strength that he does, they would be told of one hundred sit ups, squats and push ups each, then a ten-kilometer run. Every day. For three years. Oh, and no air conditioner or heater.
What the man had forgotten, maybe with the loss of his ability to feel emotions such as fear, happiness, excitement and various others. On top of his workout, he had fought Mysterious Beings whenever they popped up. At first being beaten to a bloody pulp, but his will and want was too strong for him to give up. People could only guess that this could be what had broken what is known as his limiter. Having no cap on the power he can hold within his body.
It was this man that sat in front of the tv today, leaning back against his small couch, left leg curled under and right leg thrown up at an angle with his ankle resting on the table in front of him. Disinterested, blank brown eyes – though they were often seen as little black dots – staring unfocused on the screen. His right pinky was dug into his nose, trying to get a stubborn piece out before he sneezed. In the kitchen of the medium-sized apartment, stood his disciple; Genos, - sometimes the relationship was often one-sided, at least in some moments – he was making a simple lunch of udon noodles with a side of rice and gyoza.
The now twenty-year-old cyborg stood in front of an industrial sized pot. Knowing that his sensei had a large appetite, while also, preparing for any unexpected guests. For Saitama often had S-Class heroes, King and Silver Fang over. Saitama still couldn't wrap his mind around the exact reason why these heroes were attached to him, but he could admit – at least to himself – that they had grown on him, like fungus. Even with the trouble he kicked up, before he had moved from the now abandoned City-Z, that his apartment was too small, he had no excuse now. Though the space wasn't vast, it was definitely bigger than the one room apartment with a half-wall connecting to the sink dividing the space.
Saitama was broken out of his task when a knock sounding on the door, yawning widely, the man stood up, waved Genos off and moved towards the door. Scratching at his ear idly, he opened the door, face set into an uninterested expression. Blinking slowly, Saitama greeted Silver Fang and King, moving aside to let them in. "Genos is making lunch." He informed them, voice dripping with boredom. It wasn't that he had anything against the heroes, even when he complained. But with the strength he had, boredom and disinterest were all he had felt now. Very rarely stimulated anymore.
Silver Fang, known as Bang to the three heroes in the room, thanked Saitama before slipping away into the kitchen. Bang often liked to help cook whenever he visited. King mumbled a hello, already kneeling in front of the tv as he set up the console he had brought. Having gone through the routine so many times, the otaku had the game set up within moments, extending a second controller to Saitama. Shrugging broad shoulders, Saitama took the remote and plopped down next to the man, neither spoke as they fought on-screen. Both were content to focus, though the silence didn't last long.
Minutes after starting the round, Saitama let out a yell of frustration, having just watched King's character execute a power move that had killed Saitama's character with just three hits. At the same time, another knock sounded. Saitama felt a stirring of confusion but didn't express it as he moved into a crouch, meaning to stand. Bang waved the man off, moving to the door himself. Shrugging again, Saitama settled on the floor, starting a second round with King.
"Silver Fang, what are you doing here?" A high pitched, feminine voice pushed into the apartment, confusion laced in her tone. Glancing over quickly, Saitama's shoulders slumped as he realized the S-Class hero, Tornado of Terror, also known as Tatsumaki – as Genos had let slip to him – floated above the floor right outside his door. Like every other time he saw he, the woman was wearing a small, long-sleeved black dress, with four high slits. Showing off her legs and bits of her hips.
Small breasts were visible, and the dress hugged her skin, but the hero didn't have a lot of assets to show. Enshrouded in a mint-green bubble, which was actually just a shade darker than her own curly hair, the lady stood at height with the elderly hero. Though her actual height was somewhere around 5'2" if Saitama had to guess. Rarely seeing her on her own two feet. Saitama was broken out of his musings as King cheered, the screen in front of him now reading that his character was knocked out again.
Bang must've responded to what the esper had said, as the man came back into the room, Tatsumaki in tow. Unknown to him, Tatsumaki was a bit impressed, wondering why two of her fellow S-Class heroes were so at ease in the A-Class hero's apartment. Though Genos was also S-Class, it was a rare sight to see the cyborg and bald man separately. So, it had been little surprise to her to see him here. She couldn't stop herself from wondering if the cyborg lived here, and why, being in the top class allowed him to have his own, much larger, apartment.
Shaking herself from her thoughts, Tatsumaki focused on the reason why she was here in the first place. "Hey baldy..." she hesitated, gnawing on her lip as she realized that he may not respond in kind if she insulted him. "Saitama," she corrected, her voice strained with the effort to be polite to the man. "I have a proposition for you." She continued, the energy wrapped around her body tinging to a darker green as she hovered. The only outward sign to show her discomfort and effort to be civil.
"I want to fight you." She said, desperately trying not to snap as the A-Class commented that he wasn't interested in her like that. His comment made her chest hurt, heart clenching in pain and stomach rolling with it. She couldn't fathom why her body reacted that way, she didn't like the man like that. Sure, she didn't hate him anymore, not after what she had seen after the Monster Association situation at least. But she couldn't have feelings for him, could she?
Her power flexed again, green curls moving without the wind, her irritation managing to shine through in her eyes. "If you win, I'll do something for you, a favor really. But if you lose, you start back at the bottom of C-Class for me, and you have to do something for me." She went on, ignoring the man's open mouth, knowing that if she had given him the chance, he would interrupt her. The Esper smiled, proud with the fact that aside from her slip-up, she hadn't insulted the man.
"I'll fight you." Saitama agreed, the boredom he felt seeded so deeply that he could do with the spar between them. "But, if I win, I'd like you to get the association to change my hero name." He was sure he would win, but he wouldn't say it directly. Like Tatsumaki, he had realized that if he didn't insult her in anyway, she'd be more likely to agree to his request. Tatsumaki's eyes widened in surprise, was that all? She asked herself, she had been sure that the man would've wanted to hold some power over her, if only for a day. Sure, he would use it to embarrass her and make her regret coming to ask and trying to be civil with the man she had come to respect – though it was a very small amount, it was still there – "I can do that." She stated confidently. Already planning in her head how she would go about doing it.
She could use fear and intimidation to bully the workers to change the name. But that could cause some discord and speculation between them and the workers, and further distrust between Saitama, the workers, other heroes and civilians alike. A plan forming in her mind, she smiled at him. "We'll have to invite the other S-Class heroes to watch and Amai Mask." she informed him, briefly explaining that she wanted to fight to test where she is at with his abilities. She's been training again since her defeat with the Monster Association, but until now she had no way to test how far she's come with it.
Inviting the A-Class, Rank One; Amai Mask along was purely for Saitama's benefit. While she was aware that the Amai Mask was itching to find out more about the powerhouse's abilities, she was sure that if he was impressed at the end of the day, he would help her convince the Hero Association, making his request easier to do and the change to go through faster. The arrogant, popular hero was a thorn in her side, but she knew that he was popular among a lot of groups, and a strong, respected hero among others – though he wouldn't hear her say that – his sway over the people would get them to agree to the arrangement.
Saitama agreed with her conditions, every hero moving around the table to eat even Tatsumaki, to her delight and surprise – the food looked delicious – planning with her to meet the next day in City-Z, intending to use the same spot that Genos and he had used to fight when he had first agreed to keep Genos as a disciple. Tatsumaki's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, the location not having been explained of any importance. But she agreed none the less.
The next day, eleven people had met in the empty, torn space indicated for the fight. It was a small canyon. Various craters, burns and torn cliff faces scattered around them. The most daunting sight though, was the massive space torn into a larger cliff face. It was like a gigantic letter 'U', rough around the edges of course but that was the general shape. When asked about it, Genos had proudly boasted that it was the doing of his Sensei. In response to the rapid inquiries, he shrugged, face just as disinterested but a small sign of sheepishness within his eyes if one looked very, very close.
Each hero was shocked, and they were all filled with excitement to be shown up close – without the impending danger of monsters – the power this one man held. They all hoped that the fight could hold so each could get their fill of information. Tatsumaki and Saitama stood apart from each other, forty feet of torn earth between them. The other heroes pressed off to the side, standing in a loose line, so as to not rile each other up with close proximity.
Most heroes within S-Class, - Flashy Flash and Metal bat especially – seemed to hold a strong sense of animosity for the A-Class heartthrob. The man rubbed them the wrong way, but they each just wanted to watch the spar unfold before them. So, for now, they shelved their differences and settled to watch. They didn't have to wait long, while they had been glaring daggers at them, it had seemed that the two contestants took their stances.
Tatsumaki attacked first, hand thrown out, fingers splayed and energy pulsing around her in a dark tinge, rubble pushed up into the air, each of them wrapped in a matching amount of energy and were shot towards the A-Class opponent. Saitama had waited until they were a little less than ten feet from him, before he had thrown what he dubbed his Normal Series, Consecutive Normal Punches attack, never connecting with the rapidly approaching projectiles. But the air pushing from the force of the punches rushing to meet them and breaking the rubble on contact.
Each of the heroes were shocked, not having been away – except for Genos and perhaps Bang to an extent – that his punches held enough force to distill the air around them. With a hot rush of air, the energy dispelled from the rubble pieces, now crumbled to a state near dust. Tatsumaki felt a rush of respect flow through her before she moved to attack again, letting her psychokinetic abilities push herself forward. Pushing herself to twist in midair, she became a green and black blur to every eye except Genos – due to his computerized state – and Saitama.
As she spun, her energy began to pulse in waves, sending small gouges into the ground, and pushing the other heroes back. Unnerving each of them as it was hard to see what was truly happening. Before she could throw her arm out and push her energy to Saitama, he lifted up his hand, flicking her gently on the head. The shock of the simplicity of the act caused her to freeze – still being held up still – a dull throb of pain building where he had flicked her on the crown of her head.
Pouting slightly, Tatsumaki lashed out, green energy wrapped around her hand before she was stopped again. This time by Saitama's arm coming up at a ninety-degree angle and stopping the force of her arm moving in its tracks. Saitama's expression had shifted from boredom and disinterest to some excitement, with the closed distance between the two heroes, Tatsumaki could see it shining in his – what she suddenly realized – beautiful brown eyes.
After this realization, the fight had past swiftly. Saitama having either rebutted every attack she gave or letting it hit, with it having little to no effect on him. In the end, Tatsumaki knelt on the ground, her energy dim and wrapped thinly around her frame. Pulsing with every breath she took. Sweat covered her forehead and heat and blood had settled over her cheeks, settling a bright red sheen to her face. Panting quietly, Tatsumaki moved a shaking arm up, letting her fingers push her hair, now damp with sweat and a little less curly away from her face.
"You win Saitama." She said, breathless, but steadily. Green eyes flicked up to brown ones, his body having blocked her from the sun, casting her small frame into a shadow. "Amai Mask and I will get the hero association to change your hero name within the next two weeks." She informed him, a giddy and warm feeling of happiness wriggling in her belly as he beamed in delight. The sight was a little odd, Saitama having never shown this kind of emotion on his face, but it made her happy all the same.
Saitama stuck a hand out for her, pulling her up to stand when she placed her hand in his. The force of the pull, along with her slight frame had caused the esper to be pulled into the man's chest. Tatsumaki was more than impressed with the muscles she could feel under her fingertips, the firm chest pressing into her shoulder. Tiredly, she laid her head on his chest. Her small stature, paired with low-black heels put her only up to the middle of his chest.
Surprisingly, Saitama didn't complain, though he did feel some confusion. Instead, he patted her head, trying to make sense of the affection he felt for the esper. Shrugging slightly, Saitama held the lady close, moving towards Genos, Bang and King, the only heroes who had stuck around after the two heroes' fight. "Let's go get some udon. I'm starving." He said, ignoring the surprised look on Genos' face, a happy smile hidden under Bang's white mustache and the knowing glint in King's eyes.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Punch Man or the characters within it. The Creator and Author do. I am simply playing with it.
Author Note: Hey guys, this will be the retake of my Tatsumaki/Saitama story previously on the website. I decided to take a different approach with it, having recently read more of the manga and re-watched the show. I do plan on following up with a second chapter, and I want to take this a little slower. Maybe aiming for a multi-chapter story. We'll have to see.
I know there wasn't much for the fight scene. I have written this when I'm tired and I'm not great with fight sequences, but if someone would like to write one of their fights under the same circumstances as I've put here. Make their own take of it, I wouldn't mind that. I only ask that you PM what you want to do, let you know you intend to write it. If you'd like to put suggestions for any future fights, I do not know if there will be any, but any help will be appreciated on that front and I will give credit where it is due if I include more fight scenes. Thanks for reading.