Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

Summary: A family is all that one has. Keeping that family together even during the toughest of storms is sometimes harder that it appears.

Pairing: Genos/Kagome

Kazoku

Chapter One:

Kagome smiled as her last group of customers left for the day. She turned and smoothed out her apple green apron. The bunched cloth dropped back into its proper place as she untied the string from behind her back.

"You heading out?" An ox-like man called out from an aisle over. She nodded.

"That I am Toushi!" She threw her apron over her shoulder, "You need anything else before I pack up?"

The burly manager threw his head back and laughed, "As if! You did wonderfully today! Now go home! I don't need you quittin' on me 'cause I kept you over your shift."

The young woman laughed, "Yeah right!" She proceeded to the back of the tiny market. It was on the border between the inhabited part of Z-city and it's abandoned counterpart. Due to its location they didn't get a great deal of customers, but enough to make a living. Though a select portion of their clientele were certainly interesting characters. She flung the western-most door back to reveal a small break room complete with a round table large enough to fit eight people, a bar complete with a microwave, and a television broadcasting the latest news.

Kagome's eyes were drawn to the forecaster as news of a mosquito swarm decimating a nearby city was blasted over the speakers.

"Citizens of Z-city, please take cover immediately!" The man yelled, his face pinched with worry. The teen sighed. Well she'd better hurry home quickly. After ensuring that she had everything she needed, the teen made the long trip back to her apartment. She crossed through a familiar gap in the yellow caution tape strewn over the broken chain link fencing.

All of the people that had been wandering around before had already retreated to the safety of their homes. She traversed the path of broken roads and upturned rubble to the heart of the abandoned portion. There were only a few more blocks left before she'd make it home. Then she felt it. A wave of heat flashed through the empty streets. Kagome felt a familiar pulse of power rise up—protecting her against the rush of flames. Once the fire died down, the road under her feet squished uncomfortably. The teen's expression dropped. Much to her dismay the broken tar she had been standing on before had somehow melted into a pile of black goop. She struggled with each step after that. Her shoes sticking even harder to the now cooling surface. Damn if this kept up she was going to be glued in place!

There was another flash of light. This time it was even more powerful than before. Damn it, her barrier wasn't going to do anything against the raw heat! Sure she'd be protected from the fires but it was hot! She panted as she trudged her way through the last couple of streets. Who in the hell was doing all of this? Cobalt eyes narrowed as she saw two people fighting it out in the street. One appeared to be a cyborg and the other some kind of mosquito-like woman. The cyborg was calm and collected but there was something in the way that he carried himself that tipped her off to his uncertainty. A swarm of black surrounded them. Her eyes glowered at the scene. Ah so this was what the newscaster was talking about. Talk about an infestation! The young woman threw her barrier up again. The bugs instantaneously slammed into it, hundreds making gross sizzling sounds as they fell to the ground.

Kagome eyes returned to the battlefield—confident in the fact that she was safe for the time being. The two from before battled it out, then another round of fire pulsated through the area. Great just what she needed. At least she still had some water left over from her break. Once the flames subsided the mosquito-girl was gone and the cyborg from before was standing still, his eyes surveying the area.

"Man, you're amazing. You saved me!" A familiar voice came from a distance. Her brows furrowed. There was no way! As she came closer, she saw another figure that had been hidden from view before. At the center of it all was her aniki—completely naked and rubbing the back of his head.

"Saitama-aniki, what are you doing flashing others like that! That's in bad taste!" The girl reprimanded as she charged over towards them.

Saitama blinked and grinned at his neighbor, "Oh, Kagome-chan, got off from work already?"

"You do realize you are naked, right?!" Kagome barked, her skin burning hot with embarrassment, and it wasn't from the cyborg's flame.

"Ehhhh, ohhh..." He looked down upon himself, "Ah my clothes got burnt off." Came the man's rather blunt reply. She shook her head at his lack of shame. Was there nothing that could shake that man's emotions?

Genos stared at both of them-the girl he hadn't even noticed the presence of, until she stomped up to the bald man and started fussing at his state of undress. How did they both survive? By all means his reckless show of power should've destroyed them all, yet here they stood. Not a cinder on them. He needed to know more about these people.

"You sure made them bug out didn't you?" The bald man joked.

Kagome slapped her hand to her forehead, "Lame! I thought you'd learn better jokes by now." He grinned up at her and casually stretched his back out, giving them an all too good a view of the source of his manhood. "Cover up already, would ya? This isn't the bathroom you know!" The teen growled, averting her eyes away from the sight.

Then without warning the girl threw herself in front of Genos. Her arms stretched out, a thin veil of light shimmered in front of her. The young man was slightly surprised but before he could ask, his enemy had reappeared. With a single swipe of her inhuman hands, the mosquito-like woman shattered the barrier that separated them. Golden eyes widened as that limb drew ever closer to the girl in front of him. His body reacted out of instinct. His one good arm wrapped itself around Kagome before throwing her to safety. The blow meant for her sliced through him instead, tearing a good chunk of his torso.

"Are you alright!?" Kagome called out, struggling to stand. Her power was starting to weaken after using her barrier so much earlier. There wasn't much more she could do to help.

The woman's crimson eyes rolled to the teenaged girl's form. She smirked and pointed at her, "You're next girly. I just have to finish off your boyfriend first then we can have all the fun we want, woman to woman." A look of pure disgust washed over Kagome's face. Wait, what? What in the world was this mosquito-woman talking about?

Saitama's face drew into a deep scowl. Oh no, that was not going to happen. Not under his watch. As the source of all their problems dove to deliver the killing blow that'd destroy Genos, the naked man quickly intervened and slapped her. The force of the hit threw the creature's body into skyscraper not too far away, decorating its brick with her blood.

"Mosquitos suck." He commented dryly as Kagome rushed to the cyborg's side.

Cobalt eyes glanced over the damage to the boy's body, "Are you going to be alright? Where do you go to get yourself healed? I can take you there if you need." She rambled off, trying to shift his broken body into a more comfortable position.

The blond put his hand on her shoulder to still her movements, "I'll be fine. The doctor will be here soon to get me. There's no need to worry." Then he turned his fierce gaze onto the other man, "Your name was Saitama wasn't it? I heard your wife call you that."

The two sputtered, "She's not my wife!" The bald man spat, the look of horror flushing across her face. "She just turned eighteen two weeks ago! I'm not into jail bait!"

"Hey! Don't insult me!" Kagome growled as she turned on her brother-figure, "You could've just told him without being weird about it!"

She turned towards the cyborg, "My name is Kagome and yes, that's Saitama. He's my guardian." She smiled and asked, "So now that, that's out of the way, what's your name?"

"Genos." He answered simply, his eyes darting between the two of them. That'd make sense. There was a significant age difference between the two of them and the air of familiarity was that of siblings, not lovers. The blond glanced back over to the older man, "I want you to make me your disciple."

"Okay." Came the surprised reply. The dark-haired teen slapped her forehead again. Could her brother be anymore clueless?

Saitama looked at Genos, really looked at him. The boy's eyes burned with fire and he realized that he was serious.

"Come back tomorrow in one piece. We'll discuss it then." With that the bald man grabbed his ward and ushered her back home. He'd had more than his fair share of fun for the day. His stomach growled in protest as he pushed her faster towards their apartment. He was too damn hungry to deal with all of this right now. Pushing the kid off until tomorrow seemed like the best course of action.

"Understood!" Genos called out from behind them. The teen's voice was strong and full of determination.

Kagome cocked her head back and gave the boy a casual wave goodbye. He was unable to return it but his expression lit up that much more. She twisted her head to the opposite side and gave her guardian a stiff glare, "You're really just gonna leave him there by himself?"

Saitama shrugged, "He'll be fine. There isn't anyone around. Besides, you heard the guy. His doctor was already on the way."

She cocked a brow at him, "So do you really plan on taking him in as your disciple?"

The bald man shrugged, "Don't know. Now I want food damn it. Cook us some dinner woman!"

The teen laughed as they made their way back home. It was always food with her brother-figure. Nothing else ever seemed to stir him quite like the promise of a meal.

"Alright already!" She grinned, walking even faster than before. Her guardian was practically pushing her face first into the dirt in his eagerness to get home but she didn't mind. Kagome increased her pace and walked ahead of the man who had taken her in three years ago. She had a sneaky suspicion that he was craving oden tonight, or was that her growling stomach's suggestion? Either way, she was sure he was going to like it.

A soft knock at their door drew the young woman's attention. She smiled. Ah so he did come after all.

"Saitama-aniki, we have a guest!" She called out a little too happily. The bald man appeared and glowered at her.

"I'm sending him away." He grunted, pushing his way past her and into their entryway. Kagome smiled, sure he was. He'd only spent the whole night pacing and trying to decide on how to get a guy like that to stay away. She hummed happily as their tea boiled over the stove. Ah, almost ready and just in time too!

The door creaked open and she heard her guardian whisper, "So you came." The door widened to allow the newcomer passage into the humble adobe.

"Welcome Genos-kun!" Kagome smiled from the kitchen, "I've got tea ready. If you wait a bit longer I'll have some lunch available soon too." The cyborg gave her his thanks as Saitama directed him to take a seat at their table.

The older man took a deep breath, "Drink your tea and then head home. I'm not interested in taking on any disciples."

The dark-haired teen shook her head. Well that was one way of putting it. She listened in as Genos suddenly began to ramble on about his past. It was pretty heart wrenching but she had to admit, that boy could certainly rattle on! She stopped as a familiar ping hit the edge of her senses.

"Saitama-aniki, we have an intruder. He'll be coming through the ceiling in about ten seconds." The bald man ceased his rant of limiting one's sentence length. As expected there was a flash of power that alerted the cyborg to the intruders as well. Saitama took off through the open window, chasing down the culprit before they could do harm to his precious home.

It was then that Genos took to a defensive position, "There are two more outside. I'll handle those."

She hummed as the men disappeared. The sounds of some sort of fighting echoed from outside. The teen's brow creased, now where was that spice? She reached over the counter and smiled as she managed to find it. Ah, ha! Darn thing was trying to hide from her! Cobalt eyes lit up as something slammed into a building not too far away. The floor beneath her shook as her pan trembled at the shockwave. Steam wafted through the air elegantly. It was done!

She smiled and called out, "Saitama-aniki, Genos-kun! Lunch is ready!" Several screams erupted before the two men reappeared. Her guardian was covered in dirt but otherwise okay. Genos on the other hand didn't have a hair out of place. So strange.

The eighteen-year-old set three bowls of oyakodon in front of the hungry males. It was clear they had something on their minds so she chose not to say anything. Instead she refilled their tea and took her own spot in between the two of them.

Genos took mouthful of the rice and chicken. His golden eyes brightened before he devoured the entire thing. He glanced at her momentarily. The young woman smiled at his eagerness.

"There's more in the kitchen. Feel free to grab as much as you like." She pointed an index finger towards the covered pot resting on their stove. The blond nodded and padded off to retrieve another helping.

The rest of the time was spent in silence. Genos ended up grabbing two more bowls before feeling satisfied. Kagome had to hand it to him, he could really pack away his food!

"Thank you Kagome-san. I appreciate the meal," He bowed before her.

She waved at him, "No need to be so formal. Just use Kagome." He nodded.

"Right, master! We ought to track down those guys' hideout." The cyborg stated as he placed his bowl in the sink. Kagome collected hers and Saitama's and did the same.

"You're right. We should go now." The bald man agreed. Genos' eyes widened, surprised at the eagerness in his teacher. "We won't be able to go tomorrow because there's a big sale at the market."

The teen's face dropped. Oh yeah, she forgot about that. She was actually a bit surprised that Toushi let her off today. Then again she believed that this might've been his way of giving her some time off. Wait, did Saitama say tomorrow? The sale was today only.

"Actually Saitama-aniki that sale is to-" She was cut off as the front door opened and then slammed shut. The two men were gone. Again. Well that was a total bust. Though, there was one good thing. Her mind wandered to the blond-haired teen that had stumbled into their lives. Her brother now had people other than herself in his life. It would seem that the boy was not interested in going away any time soon and she doubted that Saitama was really willing to send him away. The girl smiled. Well things sure were about to get interesting around here. Judging by the way the cyborg looked at her guardian, she wondered how much longer it'd be before he asked to move in? Kagome nearly laughed at the thought. That would be a nightmare since she and Saitama were already sharing the livingroom space at night. They just pushed their furniture aside and set up two futons. This apartment was definitely not big enough for the three of them. She shrugged. Oh well, they'd deal with that when the time came for it. As for now, she had a mountain of dishes to do.

Kagome smirked darkly at the pile of chores awaiting her. Now this was going to be the best part.

A/n: So this is a separate universe from "Simplicity" and Beautiful Phantom's "Ordinary". There were a few ideas I wanted to use in "Simplicity" but didn't really have the space to do it, so I decided to go ahead and write my own full length Genos/Kagome fic as well. I'll probably finish "Simplicity" within the next week or two as there's only two more chapters left. Anyways, let me know what you think!