Hi! Thank you for giving your time to read my fanfic. English is not my mother tongue but i 'll appreciate criticisms for it.
This is a SaiGeno fic by the way. Enjoy!
"I'm sorry, but I think you're not suitable for this job." The employer sternly informed me as he tossed the my application letter on the table.
Sighing, I quietly walked out of the room and of the building. Frustration slowly building up when suddenly my stomach growls for food. Today is december and it's cold - hence deciding eat at a nearest udon restaurant downtown. The sun shines bright like the day is fulfilling for everyone. The breeze caressed my skin as it passes through the city. Walking past some people and cars, thoughts popped up in my mind. Come to think of it, this is my fifth try of the year and yet no company still would accept my application. I am definitely losing my patience. They all said that I'm not qualified enough to reach their standards. I wonder, what kind of standards do they actually expect from their future employees? I know myself that I'm hardworking...if motivated.
Oh.
Maybe I guess that's the reason why? They doubt I'm not motivated enough for their company. Well, they do have a point. Motivation is hard to attain especially if you don't want to do things you don't want in the first place. Consistent routines suck. And I'm pretty much bad at it. Probably because I tend to procrastinate a lot and repetitive tasks are annoying. I want something new. Something that can quench my thirst from boredom. Something extraordinary.
Too much thoughts clouded my head that I did not notice a speeding car going straight to my direction. Luckily, the driver is fast to react to the situation, steering the wheels forcefully away from me. He angrily stepped out of the vehicle with a glaring stare, pointing his finger and began scolding me.
"Hey you! What do you think you're doing?! I almost hit you! Didn't you see the red light for pedestrian late is still ongoing?"
Snapping out of my thoughts, I replied, flabbergasted. "Oh- sorry." I bowed down for what had happened. My absent-mindedness causes me harm all the time.
The man took a deep breath for a while and accepted my apology. " Alright. Just be alert next time. You could've been killed if you're not on your feet and fines would fuck me so bad. You're lucky I'm in a hurry." He didn't bother anymore to hear my reply and just drove away. With that, I resumed walking.
Thinking about it, I just realized he's a good man after all. So there's still like him in this world, huh. Not that I care however, it's nice to acknowledge people with their good deeds from time to time.
I stopped wandering in the streets when numerous televisions outside of a certain electronic shop peeked my interest. All of them are currently showing a news about a person who saved a bank being robbed by some dangerous armed thieves. Those theives are now being held by authorities. The savior's name is Blake Stevens and is now revered as a hero nationwide.
Hero.
What an ambitious title.
But what is the feeling of being one? Is it exciting? Is it fun?
"Okay children. Please tell me your names and what you want to be when you grow up. One by one." The middle-aged woman clapped her hands to bring the attention of the whole class to her.
The room is filled with different colorful toys displayed on the shelves. Posters about alphabetical letters with some pictures of things and animals are aligned on the wall. The my classmates are doing their own businesses.
The kids in front are first to be called out. Many are too confident and some are quite shy. Their ambitions are almost the same - to be a teacher, fireman, artist, astronaut-
"Okay little one near the window, it's your turn. Come, come!"
There are like five kids near the window, and that includes myself. Confused, I ask her if she is referring to me, "M-me?"
"Yes baby. You!" Her vibrant smile...is sort of creepy. I don't know why, but it's really creepy.
I quietly stood up and forced myself to go in front of the class. The presence of people irks me, like I am suffocating from a burning building. But of course, I am a child, therefore I have no idea what kind of feeling is that.
Pursing my lips, my hands are starting to shake terribly. I want to go home.
"Little one. Please tell us your name and what you want to be when you grow up. Come on, don't be shy." Honestly, her encouragement made my situation worse.
It's my first time introducing myself in front of many people. I find it uncomfortable, so I responded with my head looking down the floor."S-Saitama."
"Ooooh." She nodded. "Okay Saitama, so what do you want to be when you grow up?" She patiently repeated her words as she wait for my next response.
"...I-" I tried regaining my posture and breathe deeply to calm myself down. I paused for a while, clenching my fists then said, "Hero. I-I want to be a hero!"
Deafening silence filled the room then followed by bursts of laughter. For them, it seems that they think I must be silly. Like it's impossible to happen. This time, I'm not embarassed, I felt insulted.
The teacher raised her brow. "Hero? You do not like a real one?"
"I want to be a hero." I firmly stood by my own words.
What's a real one by the way? Are they saying that being a hero isn't realistic?
After an hour walking, I finally saw an udon restaurant. The size of the building is small for it to accomodate twenty people. Its walls are made from a mix of concrete and wood, the windows are wide open, and the floor seems to be wooden and shiny. The establishment almost looked like an express.
I entered without further ado and noticed the most of the costumers are high school students. Makes sense because it's just four houses away from a school. Though I did not expect it's a hit. All seats are almost filled as more students walked in the entrance. Not wanting to wait and watch the remaining seats to be completed taken, I rushed to the counter then inspected what the menu has to offer. Different dishes with different prices, I meticulously browsed for more, desiring for delicious meal for a cheap price. If it even exist.
Welcome to the life of unemployed.
It took me two and a half minutes to decide and finally ordered a nabeyaki udon in the end. After I got my food, I immediately snatched the last remaining table with two unoccupied chairs located at the left-most corner. I placed my meal on the table and grabbed the chopsticks, tried splitting it into two cleanly but the sticks didn't obey. It is now asymmetrical in shape. Welp. Whatever. Anyway, I started eating.
The thick white noodles is chewy and the mushroom in it is tender, comforting my taste buds. The vegetables are soft, the pink and white steamed fish cake and tempura are also savory too. It's like I've never consumed a good udon like this before.
Or maybe I'm just hungry.
I don't know.
Meanwhile, a student approached my table and asked me. "Excuse me, is there anyone sitting here?" He pointed at the other chair.
Okay, it does not bother me so I'll let him. Besides, I do not own that seat either. "O- no."
"Thank you." The young lad bowed down and sat.
He has a dirty blond hair with a matching honey gold colored eyes. My estimation of his height would probably be 5"5' feet and his age between 12-14 years old. Fairly young. Also, he have this milky white skin. Is he a foreigner?
In addition, why is he alone?
Wait.
Why do I care by the way?
Silence.
Fine, I take it back. It does actually bother me.
For a kid like him, I'd say he eats fast. He finished his food right away even though I'm way ahead of him. On the other hand, I observed that he's timidly staring at me. This kid might be onto something because my hunch says so. And I hate it. I can't finish my udon with this.
Five minutes have passed and he's still eyeing on me. "What? You need something?" I gave him an I'm-so-done-with-your-shit gaze just to get this over with and surprisingly, he is unfazed. He appears serious.
"Yes." Seeing that as a signal of opportunity, he puts out some papers out of his bag and handed it to me. "I am tasked to execute a survey about the dreams and goals of people outside of our school and present the data with my own analysis to the class in the next two days." He reached out his bag once again to get a pen for me to write with. "I hope you can help me to progress on my assignment. And I hope I'm not a bother."
You are. You really are.
I truly want to decline, except his hopeful eyes makes my guilt to consume me if I refuse.
Sighing once again, I agreed, "Okay." Taking the form and scanning the pages, shit, these are too damn many. Why did I took it?
He quickly stood and bowed down. "Thank you! I appreciate your voluntary help. Taking my form means so much to me. Each data is very important and I...Blah blah blah"
Voluntary?
And he talks way too much. It's irritating me.
"You wouldn't have to worry about the credits. I'll make sure you will be included in the list and I-"
Too many words. Have to cut his talking now. "Could you just go straight to the point? You talk excessively. And aside from that, this form of yours has too many questions and I can't just finish this within the day. I have other things to do, in case you have no idea."
"Thank you. I grateful that you accepted helping me. You don't have to fill the whole thing right away. I'm planning to pick it up the next day for you to answer all of the questions carefully. I have my cellphone number written down on the first page so you can call me if you're done." And he's beaming with happiness now. Great. What a hassle.
"Okay, I get it. Just go to my place after I called you...Uh, what's your name by the way? So I can save it in my contacts."
"It's Genos, mister."
Right. Genos.
Sounds like an Autobot name.
Putting the form inside my suitcase, I closed it then motioned to the door to go home. The youngster tailed behind me and asked, "How about you mister?"
"Saitama."
"Ahh."
The school bell ringing far away reminds him to go back. It's past lunch time. "I have to head back to my class now. I'll see you later Saitama-san."
"Yeah, yeah." I nonchalantly dismissed him and parted ways, walking in the opposite direction.
It is the day I first met Genos.
Tell me if you have taken an interest to see the next chapter. I'll upload one sometime later.