WARNING. This short story starts out very sad with elements of depression and suicidal thoughts. If you are sensitive to this, please do not read. Otherwise, enjoy!
"Genos?"
The rain. It poured down, spattering against the glass like little crystal bullets. Outside the wind roared too, tearing through trees. The cyborg couldn't help but think of how much that roaring sounded like a monster as he gazed out from the safety of the apartment.
"Yes, Sensei," he responded, his eyes still staring into the folds of cloud and rain.
"Hurry up and sit down, I want to start the movie."
Genos cast one last glance outdoors before obediently moving away from the window and sitting beside Saitama on the bed roll. Saitama absent mindedly handed him a cup of steaming sencha tea as he pressed the play button on the remote, his eyes already glued eagerly to the screen. Genos sipped it gratefully, allowing the warmth to fill him up. He thought back to their conversation that morning:
"Genos."
"Yes, Sensei?"
"I have checked the weather report and it will be stormy all day today. There is no need to go outside. On days like this, we watch movies."
"Yes, Sensei."
It had seemed like it would be fun at the time, but after literally spending the entire day watching movie after movie, the cyborg was getting tired of it. He had even offered to go out and buy fresh ingredients for dinner in order to escape a while, but Saitama had turned him down. He used the weather as an excuse but Genos knew his real reason for not letting him go shopping was that there wasn't any sales that day. Still, Saitama had seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself throughout each cliched line and predictable plot twist, so Genos said nothing. The day was almost over now anyways. And besides, lately there had been monsters around the clock. His Sensei deserved a break, and if this is how he wanted to spend it, Genos wasn't going to complain.
As the movie wore on Genos could feel his eyes growing heavy with boredom. All he could do was pray it would be over soon so that he could excuse himself to start making dinner.
"Genos," Saitama broke the silence, speaking over the movie's cheesy dialogue.
"Yes, Sensei."
"You can't live here anymore."
The cyborg's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden comment. "Sensei-" he started to say.
"It's a burden putting you up. Even with your rent money, I feel crowded."
"I can sleep on the balcony!" Genos said desperately. His pleading eyes were focused on Saitama's face, but the hero just continued to stare at the TV screen, seeming disinterested in their conversation. "I don't feel the cold so it won't bother me! And I can take all of Sensei's chores-"
"That's not all," Saitama interrupted. "You're a burden in battle, too. You can never land a solid hit on the bad guys, and then you just get blown to pieces. It's tiring having to pick up all your parts and ship them off to the lab so you can be reassembled every time. To be honest, I'm amazed you were even able to survive this long before you had me to bail you out."
An icey numbness was spreading through Genos as he gazed at his Sensei's calm face, lit by the glow of the TV screen. Each word coming from his teacher's mouth seemed to bury themselves deep within his core like shards of cold metal. "I'm sorry, Sensei," he bowed his head in shame. "I have inconvenienced you many times, and it is very pathetic. But I promise that I will-"
"That's not even the worst part," Saitama interrupted once more. His tone was as carefree as ever, as though he were discussing something bland like the weather. But suddenly, his face darkened. For the first time, he turned to face Genos. Pure hatred boiled in his eyes, and he examined the cyborg as though he were something unpleasant that he had discovered stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Genos instinctively shrank back, a involuntary shiver crawling down his spine.
Saitama opened his mouth to continue. "I save lives, but you take all the credit. Everyone praises you for crumbling to pieces, but I actually help others and they all scorn me. Every time I defeat a monster, the entire city boasts about how brave you were. I suppose its not entirely lies, though. I guess letting the monsters trample you underfoot could be considered more brave than running away. At least it buys me time to actually stop them from killing everybody. But you're right, Genos. You're absolutely pathetic."
"Saitama-sensei," Genos whispered, his voice shaking. He had no idea what to say. Everything Saitama was saying was true. Ever since mosquito girl he'd felt he'd done nothing but get in Saitama's way. And that was only made worse by all the citizens ignoring Saitama's heroic acts and accusing him of cheating. Plus, Genos hadn't even gotten any leads on the cyborg that murdered his family after four years of searching. What was he thinking, trying to stay with Sensei? He clearly wasn't capable of even helping himself, much less his teacher. He was useless. Nothing more than a leech sucking up Saitama's precious time and energy. A worthless, filthy leech.
"I can't even believe how stupid you are!" Saitama broke into Genos' thoughts with a loud, dry cackle. "You really thought I would reveal the secret of my strength to someone as useless as you? Pathetic! Hey, Genos, I have a better idea than you leaving. Why don't you do the whole world a favor and just go join your dead family!"
Saitama's words passed right through Genos' being, tearing him apart in their wake. His core felt heavy, as though it had been filled with molten lead and allowed to harden. It was all so painfully simple. He could never hope to avenge his family. Sensei was right. He should've joined them four years ago. "Sensei," Genos choked out, his voice barely audible. "Then, can you please punch me? I know I have no right to ask anything of you, but I can't do it on my own. I can't do anything without you. Please-" his voice broke and he clutched his sides, shaking uncontrollably at the thought of death. Did it hurt to die? Would he see his family, or would he just turn into nothing and cease to exist? And even if he did see his family, would they ever forgive him for giving up, for being so useless that he couldn't even keep his promise and avenge them? It didn't matter. He couldn't change the fact that he was hopeless. He deserved this. He was already nothing.
Saitama's face has twisted into a dark grin as soon as he'd heard the words of Genos' request. "I'm a hero," he said, that same grin still etched into his mouth. "It's my duty to destroy monsters. Even the pathetic ones."
Genos watched as Saitama raised his fist. He stared into his Sensei's eyes, bright with glee at the thought of erasing the cyborg that had been a burden to him for so long. Genos felt a strange wave of satisfaction wash over himself as his teacher's fist flew towards him. Somehow, this just felt right. It felt like the only person in the world who had the right to take his life was his teacher. He smiled wistfully at Saitama, whose head was surrounded by a halo of light from the TV screen. No, it was from the sunlight outside, shining through the window. The sunlight…
Genos' eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright, gasping for air. The sound of the rain drumming against the window filled the apartment. Confused, Genos looked around. The storm was still raging on outside and judging from the dimness of the light, dusk had already set in. The TV was off now, and Saitama was nowhere to be seen. Genos tried to get shakily to his feet, but he became entangled in something and fell back onto the floor. It was Sensei's blanket, draped carefully over the cyborg. This time taking care to untangle himself, Genos again attempted to stand. He glanced out into the hall to see a square of light from the kitchen doorway. As he approached he also noticed a thick aroma in the air.
Genos walked over, pausing in the doorway to let his eyes adjust to the sudden light. "Sensei?" he asked, his voice still shaky.
"Oh, you're awake, Genos," Saitama looked up from the cutting board, where he was slicing vegetables.
"I'm very sorry, Sensei!" Genos started towards him, reaching for the knife. "I know it was my turn to make dinner. I didn't mean to fall asleep!"
"It's fine, I don't mind," Saitama waved him away. "You looked comfortable so I didn't want to wake you. Now go sit down, dinner's almost ready."
"Please let me do this, Sensei!" Genos persisted. "And I can do all your other chores too. I want to be useful to you!"
"What's this all of a sudden?" Saitama asked, still refusing to let Genos take over cooking. "I don't mind sharing the chores. If it really bothers you that much you can make dinner the next two nights in a row."
"But I want to be useful to Sensei!"
"You're plenty useful, now go sit down."
"I am?" Genos said in surprise. He paused in his battle for the knife, giving Saitama the time to scrape the vegetables into the pot. "But doesn't Sensei feel crowded with me living here?"
"To be honest, I was worried about that when you first moved in," Saitama spoke absent mindedly, paying more attention to stirring the pot vigorously. "But I actually like it. Plus you pay rent money so I don't have to worry about extra spending."
Genos felt as though a load had been removed from his shoulders. Still, that painful numbness lingered on as he remembered what else Saitama had said in his dream. "But I am useless to Sensei in battle. I always get in the way and get smashed into pieces that Sensei then has to collect. I am a burden."
"Where's all this coming from all of a sudden?" Saitama stopped stirring to look at the cyborg. He noticed the crushed look on Genos' face and the slump in his shoulders and he felt concern begin to grow in him. "Are you alright?"
"I just don't' want to get in Sensei's way. I'm more trouble than I'm worth, and I'm sorry for that."
Saitama narrowed his eyes in irritation. "What the hell's with that attitude?"
"I'm sorr-"
"Stop apologizing. You're not in my way. I may be stronger than you, but you're still an amazing fighter and you're very smart. Otherwise you wouldn't have been made an S class hero, now would you? Besides, just the other day you saved a little kid's life when that sea tyrant or whatever spat acid at her, didn't you? How does that make you a burden?"
"Sensei-" Genos murmured, taken by surprise. Saitama was usually very mellow and collected. But now he seemed to have lost his temper.
"I don't care about collecting all your pieces after battle anyways. I want you to get fixed as soon as possible so you can come back here and watch movies with me or help me get around to all the sales before the stores close or whatever. I'm used to you being here now, so it feels empty when you're not. And in any case, the more you get broken just means the more you put yourself in danger to save others."
"But that's the thing," Genos interjected. "You're the one who always ends up defeating the monsters and saving everyone, yet I get all the credit while everyone insults you and calls you a cheat. Doesn't Sensei resent me for that?"
"It is annoying sometimes," Saitama looked thoughtful, his anger already fading. "But in the end I think it's better this way. I'm so strong that when I take down the monsters in one punch, it makes you and the other hero's efforts look like they were for nothing. If everyone thinks I'm cheating, then they'll all know that you guys put your lives on the line to save them. Besides, not everyone insults me. You appreciate me, Genos. That's enough for me."
"Sensei!" Genos felt relief wash over him as he stared in adoration at his teacher. So Sensei didn't despise him! It really was nothing more than a nightmare! A really terrible nightmare.
"Ah!" Saitama cried out, breaking into his thoughts.
Genos jumped and quickly braced himself for combat, desperately scanning the surroundings for whatever danger had startled his teacher. "What is it, Sensei?" he asked frantically. "Did a monster get in the apartment?"
"No, no, no!" Saitama cried, not seeming to hear Genos as he desperately fanned at the smoke rising from the now partially burned contents of the pot. "I forgot to keep an eye on it!"
Genos relaxed from his stance but still looked concerned. "I am sorry, Sensei! I distracted you from your cooking!"
"It's fine, it's fine," Saitama waved him down. "It's only a little burned on the outsides. We can still salvage the rest."
"Is there anything I can do, Sensei?"
"Yeah, go set the table."
"Yes, Sensei!"
Despite being a little burned, the dinner was delicious. Afterwards Genos washed the dishes at his own insistence while Saitama checked through coupons to look for sales tomorrow. He discovered three, and briefed Genos on their plan of action. It was late by then so the two rolled out their bed rolls and lay down for the night. Genos tried to stay awake for a while, afraid that if he fell asleep he would have another awful nightmare. However, his weariness eventually got the better of him and he dozed off. Upon hearing his companion's breathing slow to a steady pace, Saitama opened one eye and squinted at him through the darkness. He ruffled the cyborg's hair, being careful not to wake him up, and wistfully thought back to the days when he, too, had a full head of hair.
That night Genos dreamt that he and his Sensei bought a live giant squid from the supermarket and had to wrestle it into their tiny cooking pot. He woke to tell the entire dream in detail to a bewildered and slightly disinterested Saitama the next morning while they were racing from store to store.