Mari stared intently at the cake as she used a cloth to brush the excess frosting off the stand. The cake was beautiful, with its strawberry flavored mix inside complete with chunks of fresh strawberries added in and a gorgeous white buttercream frosting with fluffy piping around the edges. She opened the glass door to the display case and placed the cake gingerly inside.
Next, she picked up one of the cupcakes she'd left to cool and began slapping frosting on them one by one. She'd been working at the bakery section of the grocery store for three days now. She wasn't happy about having to relocate to City Z, but she had just graduated from culinary school, after all. It hadn't been easy to find a position as a pastry chef, especially one that required no experience. She figured she would gain experience and pay her dues in City Z, and in a few years she would be able to find a position elsewhere.
City Z was one of the furthest cities, and, for some reason, the most prone to monster attacks. She hadn't witnessed anything yet, but she was always on guard, waiting for the first one. Because of this, the city was poorly populated and business in the grocery store was slow at times. That wasn't her concern though – she was just the pastry chef, not the general manager.
At least the rent was cheap.
She looked up at the ding dong of the front door. It was around 1:00pm and this was the first customer of the day so far. She brushed the crumbs off the counter, wanting everything to look absolutely perfect. The bakery in the grocery store hadn't been in use in months. It was hard to find employees in City Z. Whenever people had come in so far, they'd ignored the bakery as if it were still dark and empty, in stark contrast to how Mari had worked to light the place up and decorate with her delicious and colorful treats. She bent over to look under the counter for the containers to put the individual cupcakes in, hopeful she may sell a baked good today.
"Oy!" a voice said and she nearly knocked her head on the top of the counter. She hadn't even heard anyone come up.
"Hello, how can I help you?" A man had approached her counter. Looking at his face, she would have guessed him to be around her age, but his head was completely bald. He was wearing gray cargo pants and a Hawaiian button-up shirt.
"When did this bakery section open back up?"
"Three days ago," she said. "Would you like to buy a cake?"
He blinked at her a few times, his face completely blank. "Can I have a sample first?"
"A sample?"
"Ya I'd like to know what it tastes like before I get the whole cake."
"Well, I can't cut into the cake, but you can try a cupcake – it's the same batters."
She opened the display case and lifted the glass top from the cupcake stand, pulling out one of her prized strawberry cupcakes. "What do you think?" She held it out for him to look at.
He looked at the cupcake and licked his lips before reaching out and taking the cupcake from her hand. Strange, she thought, He has dark eyebrows.
He held the cupcake in his hand and delicately peeled the cupcake wrapper back before opening his mouth and tossing the whole cupcake back in one gulp.
"Erm…" Mari said as she stared at him. "So how was it?"
He held the cupcake wrapper out to her and shrugged. "I'll take a strawberry cake."
"Yes sir!" she took the wrapper and tossed it before tapping a few buttons on her ticket printer. She tore the ticket off and handed it to him. "Just take this to the front register to pay. I'll pack up the cake." She smiled broadly at him. Her first sale! She pulled the cake out and placed it inside a white box, before wrapping it with a red bow, perfect for the strawberry cake.
"Thank you," she said as she passed the box over the counter to him. "I hope you have a great day!"
Xxxxxxxxx
"Master Saitama, I thought you just bought groceries yesterday. I have noticed in the past your pattern was to go to this particular market every three days. Did you forget something?"
"Well, we ate that cake too fast and now I want another."
"It was a very good cake."
It really was one of the best cakes he'd had, enough for him to get excited about. Not much excited him anymore. For the past three years he'd trained so hard to become the strongest hero for fun – his hair even falling out because of his intensive training regimen. Now that he was the strongest he knew, nothing was fun anymore. All the monsters that came around terrorizing the city were defeated with a single punch. He'd once had dreams and goals – he was planning on working in business finance up until three years ago. He would vomit at the thought of that if he weren't so bored just thinking of it. His whole world was in colors of black, white, and grays.
But food – the taste, the smell, the textures! He was thankful that the joys of eating hadn't been taken away from him. When he'd eaten that strawberry cupcake yesterday it was like an explosion in his mouth. The soft, fluffy, moist cake; the smooth icing with just a bite of a crunch; the sweet, tangy strawberries. He'd eaten the whole cake nearly by himself – saving one piece for his "student," Genos. Like a drug, he was desperate to have another hit.
They walked into the store and to the bakery counter. The lights were on and the display case was lit up, but the woman was not behind the counter. Genos peered into the display case.
"Senpai, this one is red velvet with cream cheese icing. Or do you think you would want a German chocolate? There are fruit tarts, as well."
Saitama gave the bell at the counter a quick slap, letting the ding! carry through the store. He heard a rustle through a door behind the counter.
"One minute!" a voice called out. A few seconds later the young woman emerged from the door, the smell of cake clinging to her. Her brown hair was pulled up into a perky ponytail, with a few loose strands falling around her soft face. She wiped her floured hands on the front of her apron. "Oh, it's you again. Was everything alright with the cake?"
"Did you know it's bad business to keep a customer waiting?"
She blinked at him. "I'm sorry, I was putting a cake in the oven."
"What kind of cake?"
"A lemon cake. Are you here for another one?"
He shrugged and looked over at the display case. "It was a good cake."
She beamed at him. "Thank you so much!" She moved over to the display case. "Would you like to try another cupcake?"
"The red velvet looks good."
She handed him one of the cupcakes. "What's your favorite cake? I can make them custom, as well."
"Tiramisu," he said. She watched as he carefully unwrapped it as he'd done previously and tossed the whole thing into his mouth. She took the wrapper from him as he chewed the cake slowly, savoring the moment. "I'll take the red velvet today."
"Alright!" she said gleefully and began to take the whole cake out and place it in a box. "So did you really finish the other cake? It was alright?"
"This guy helped me finish it," he said and gestured to Genos.
"Master, I only had one slice."
"You sure are skinny for someone that can put away a whole cake." She had a kind smile. "I haven't had much business since starting, so I appreciate you coming by two days in a row. If you know anyone else that may want some baked goods, please send them my way."
"What's your name?"
"Mari. And yours?"
"Saitama."
"Well, I'm pleased to know you, Saitama," she said and extended the cake box to him.
He almost felt a smile at the corner of his mouth.
An explosion outside the grocery store stole their attention. Through the window Saitama could see a cloud of dust and debris settling. A car was laying on its side right outside the store. The cellphone in Genos' pocket alarmed.
"It's from the Hero Association. It says there's a monster right outside."
"Obviously," Saitama said. "What level?"
"Oh, are you a hero?" Mari asked Genos.
"Yes, Master and I are both heroes."
"Master?" she said and looked at Saitama. "Are you a hero?"
He shrugged at her.
"Threat level: tiger. Let me take care of this one, Sensei." The cyborg turned and walked out of the front door.
"I've never seen a real-live monster attack! Do you think it's safe to go outside?" She dashed over to the window to look out.
"Genos is usually able to handle things pretty well."
She looked back at him and winked. "Either way, you're a hero so you can protect me, right?"
"Erm…" he wasn't sure how to react to her. Was she flirting with him? Of course he could appreciate women – he glanced down at hoodie with the word "boobs" written across. But it had been a long time since a woman had looked at him, probably not since he'd lost his hair. Then again, he hadn't really looked at a woman either. His boredom had taken over every aspect of his life to where he was even too bored to date.
She flew out the front door, her red dress flapping in the breeze, and he followed slowly behind.
"Ssso," the monster snarled outside as Genos stared it down. "Thisss isss an Sss Classss?"
Saitama saw Mari shiver involuntarily. "I hate snakes."
The monster was around seven feet tall and had the head and torso of a cobra, with the arms and legs of a man. Gold and black stripes ran the scales of its body down into his cut off blue jean shorts.
"I'll make quick work of you, monster!" Genos said as he sprinted forward, his fist pulled back, ready to strike. Snakeman pulled back his own fist and swung, their fists colliding. With the whip of his tail, Snakeman twirled and sent Genos flying across the street with such force that he created a crater where he landed.
Mari herd Genos let out a groan.
"Genos! Do you need help?" Saitama called out.
"N-no, Master! I will dispatch him on my own, as you instructed."
"OK, well, don't die, then."
"It'sss not jussst him you ssshould be worried about!" Snakeman picked up a car and spun it with lightning speed around his head. The car turned into a blur and started created a vortex, causing the wind to kick up and debris to fly. Saitama saw the hem of Mari's dress begin to float up before she hurriedly brushed it back down. He certainly didn't mind seeing her creamy white legs.
Snakeman hurled the car at them. Saitama dashed forward in front of Mari, his right arm up, effectively stopping the car feet in front of her. The car collapsed around his arm, twisting around his body.
"Saitama!" Mari gasped. He turned around inside the car and wiggled out of the back, holding his cake box above his head. "Are you alright?!"
"Yea, it really wasn't anything much."
She jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "That was so scary! You saved me!"
"It was really nothing – just what a hero does," he said, still holding the cake and not sure what to do with his other hand. Should he touch her back? Her arm? Her ass?
At that moment, a brick came flying through the air, hitting his cake box and knocking it out of his hand. The cake fell out onto the ground and rolled a few feet into a weather drain.
"The CAKKEEEEEEE!" he yelled in anguish. He brushed Mari away quickly before crouching and jumping straight into the air and landing right in front of Snakeman. He pulled his fist back and punched the monster with so much force, the monster flew over the buildings. There was no telling where he would land, but it was obvious Snakeman would no longer be a problem.
He turned back to Mari where she simply blinked at him several times. He walked back to her and picked up the box.
"What about that lemon cake instead?"
