Yay another update! Reason for lack of updates is that I've been really under the weather lately, was sick all through Christmas and New Year's and am only feeling up to writing again now. It is my belief that if you feel like crap your writing will reflect it. So why kill myself trying to write something not that good when I can focus my energy on recovering and write something truly worthwhile. Anyways I'm feeling much better now and hopefully will be back on track and well soon!

This chapter will also mark the first story in the Naruto and One Punch Man crossover to be serialized and achieve more than a single chapter! That's a cool achievement wouldn't you say? Now without further ado here's chapter two!

Chapter II

Too bad you can't buy style

-X-

A dynamic duo emerges!

Several Hours later - Emergency Shelter A7

"Who are you two – and why the hell did you just barge into my office!?" A middle aged man yelled as he regarded the two individuals in front of him. They both looking like they came out of an anime convention with how they were dressed.

"Oh, I'm Saitama, an average guy who's a hero for fun, and this is my little brother-"

"I don't give a shit!" the man cut in, not having the time to waste on the two of them at the moment "Both of you are interfering with my work, don't you know that a monster just destroyed several sectors of the city and that the shelter is nearing critical capacity! I don't have time for costumed fools pretending to be superheroes! If you don't leave my office within the next forty-five seconds I'm going to call the police – and I will have you know that it will be a short wait as they are quite literally next door." The man said as he glared at the two imbeciles in front of him.

Any other day and he would amuse them with hearing them out – that or commit them to a mental asylum, but today wasn't one of those days. Thousands dead and tens of thousands more injured, he had his hand's full at the moment simply keeping the emergency back-up shelter operational as he keep in contact with law-enforcement and the Hero Association. He simply didn't have time for fools, especially with the threat currently raging just beyond these reinforced walls.

"Hmm, otouto you're better at talking to people – talk" Saitama said as he decided it was too much of a bother on trying to argue with what he had immediately labeled as a stubborn old man.

"Fine," Naruto said as he took the sudden shift in responsibility in stride "We're sorry to barge in like this old man, we just came here to help out a friend of ours." he said in all seriousness

'Old? I'm only 37,' the middle aged man thought a bit miffed at that "You got thirty seconds" the director said with a narrowed eyed glare at the two of them causing Naruto to shrug at the reply, while Saitama did not look bothered in the least as he riffled through the man's candy jar.

"You can come in sweetie," Naruto said as he turned towards the door and smiled just as a head peaked through the doorway, revealing a cute little brown haired girl with pigtails – this being the same girl they had rescued when confronting Vaccine Man.

"Come on don't be shy" Naruto gently urged as she walked into the room and quickly clung to Naruto's cape, she not letting go no matter how hard he tried.

"What is this?" the old man questioned, actually a tad bit curious about what this was all about

"We found her," Saitama explained while sucking on a handful of hard candy "She was all by herself in the ruins and we thought it would be for the best if we brought her here"

"Yeah, that and she gave us directions to the place after she woke up. She said that if her parents were anywhere they would be here." Naruto elaborated

"You mean you two just came through that whole mess outside!" the man shouted in clear shock, "I thought the door to this shelter was buried in by a fallen skyscraper!"

"We found a way," Naruto said with a mischievous smirk as he thought of the giant hole now cutting through said skyscraper towards the shelter.

Temporarily satisfied with the answer as he thought they likely could have navigated through the wreckage in some manner, he continued with his questioning "What about the mysterious being, how did you manage to traverse the ruins without raising its suspicions?" he questioned

Normally he would be a bit more apprehensive of the thought of someone entering an emergency shelter after lockdown had been initiated, especially if the possibility existed of them leading a mysterious being to the shelter. However, if that was the case he very much doubted they would all still be alive at this point.

"Didn't you get the news old man?" Naruto questioned disbelievingly as he eyed the old man, after all he would have suspected that the director temporarily in-charge of Emergency shelter A-7 would be privy to such important details.

"What do you mean?" the man asked with a frown

"Big Blue is dead"

*Crack*

"I told you Saitama it's not healthy to chew hard-candy. It'll get stuck in your teeth, remember what happened to your molar," Naruto lectured

"Right, I can bite through steel, but god forbid candy gets stuck in my teeth! That stuff can kill you!" Saitama commented sarcastically, it being a bit confusing as his face looked completely serious as he said this.

"Wait hold on a second, are you telling me that the mysterious being out there is dead?" the director asked in disbelief, he hadn't heard about this from central so how did these two know about it. However as he noticed the strange blue liquid currently staining the gloves of both men before him, suspicions started to mount.

"Sure is" Saitama replied

"As much as it can be" Naruto said with a shrug

"Yep, there's no deader than dead" Saitama playfully commented

"Okay I get it, the mysterious being is dead" the man said amusedly, if a bit annoyed at the two "but if that's the case then why haven't I heard from-"

"This is an emergency broadcast, as of now we are declaring the all clear for sectors A1-A3 and A7-A9 of City A. All emergency shelters are to recommence rescue attempts and are expected to go through the appropriate procedures to reintroduce their charges into their everyday lives. Those whose jobs are currently found to be inexistent in the wake of this attack are to be offered jobs in the reconstruction attempt of their corresponding sectors. Due to extensive damage, sectors A4-A6 are to remain in code yellow until the appropriate teams are mobilized – that is all." The emergency intercom blurted out

"Well I'll be damned" the director said surprised as Naruto smiled smugly at that

"See, what did we say!? Told yah he was dead!" Naruto shouted excitedly

"Believe us now old man?" Saitama added

"Well, I'd be hard pressed not to at this point" the director admitted

"So are you going to help us out or not?" Naruto pressed

"What do you – Oh yes, the girl! I'm guessing you want me to run through my data banks to see if her parents are here correct?" the man asked curiously

"Mister, would you help me find my mommy and daddy?" the girl pleaded causing the man to grimace at that.

Now he wasn't a deluded optimist, the chance that the girl's parents had both managed to reach the shelter in time was drastically low. In all likelihood chances were that both parents had died and at the most he would have to get her to any living relatives that she may have. It was likely that the girl was an orphan and she didn't even know it.

Looking through his databanks his thoughts were confirmed as the A-city emergency shelters all came back negative on the girl's parents. Pending the recovery efforts it was very likely that they were dead.

"Well the results came back inconclusive, not surprising considering the fact that we have yet to account for all the people in the shelters at the moment" he lied through his teeth with a smile "If you two could provide me with your contact information and such, I could keep you up to date concerning the matter and inform you if any new developments arise" he offered

"That's fine I suppose" Naruto shrugged, noticing the slight change in the man's demeanor, but chalking it up to relief that the monster was dead as he felt no actual ill intent coming from the man.

"Perfect" the man replied with a disarming smile as he handed the two of them two forms to fill out.

Naruto carefully reading the form while Saitama frowned at his for a moment before handing it over to Naruto who took it without a word.

Seeing the man's curious look Saitama decided to explain himself a bit "We live together" he responded plainly, causing the wheels in the man's head to turn.

"Oh, that makes sense" the old man said with a nod as he waited for Naruto to fill out the forms, after a few minutes of silence he spoke up once more "So are you two together, or…?" he trailed off as he left the insinuation quite clear, causing both Naruto and Saitama to look a little green at that. While the girl merely looked confused at what was being said.

"No! I mean hell no! We're brothers!" Saitama cried out in a rare moment of emotion, said emotion being none other than disgust.

"Really?" the director said, actually surprised at them being brothers of all things, they looked nothing alike after all. Nothing about them hinted at them being related in any way, everything from their jawline to their eye color was completely different. However when looking at the matching outfits they were wearing it was clear that they did in fact have some things in common. "I can see the resemblance" the director said with a small smirk as he looked at their ridiculous ensembles.

Naruto seeing what he was looking at decided to nip such thoughts at the bud "They were a gift" he replied simplistically, a hint of anger permeating his voice.

"I apologize, I meant no disrespect, it's just what with the matching outfits and all…" the director apologized as he conceded that he may have gone a bit too far in teasing the two. He supposed it was a mixture of the ridiculousness of the situation, bundled up with his frayed nerves from the recent incident, and the relief of the all-clear that had prompted him to act so unprofessionally.

"Like Naruto said, they were gifts" Saitama repeated with a narrow-eyed glare at the director causing said man to raise his hands in surrender.

"Plus even if I did roll that way, which I don't, I could do so much better than that!" Naruto said with a laugh as he pointed at Saitama with his pen.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Saitama as he redirected his glare towards him "Am I not good enough for you, is that it!? It's because I'm bald isn't it!?" he demanded

"Cool it man, no need to be so sensitive. It's got nothing to do with that, you're just not my type is all" Naruto responded plainly, as he followed up on the joke and caused Saitama to hang his head dejectedly at that.

Right then however they got the response they were looking for as the little girl with them broke out into giggles at the two of them, causing both of them to smile softly at that.

Turning to the director with a smile on his face Naruto handed him the filled out forms "Contact us if there are any developments on the case old man"

"I'm thirty-seven" the director said with a glare as he took the papers in hand

"I don't remember asking old man" Naruto teased with a smirk as he knew he was getting to the man if the angry twitch of his eye was any indication.

"Naruto the sale" Saitama reminded causing Naruto to go wide-eyed at that

"I almost forgot!" Naruto shouted as he looked over at the clock in the office only to find that they only had about a little over an hour to get there "We better get going!"

"Wait, this says you live in the abandoned sector of Z city!" the director cried out in shock as the two made to leave

"Onii-chan are you going to go now?" the little girl asked she grabbed onto Naruto's cape causing the teen to stop in his tracks at that as he turned to regard her "Are you going to leave me behind too, just like mommy and daddy?" she accused with large watery eyes, causing Naruto to take on an ashamed expression at that as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Damn, who knew that saying goodbye would be so hard? He should have simply done what Saitama said and taken her to the nearest shelter rather than waiting for her to wake up. He should have done as Saitama said and not gotten attached, but he liked seeing things through.

Could he help it that he had wanted to comfort a person that was all alone in the world when he himself knew what it was like to suddenly lose all that you had ever known? Was it so wrong that he had identified with her and gone on to sit with her until she had shed all the tears she had to shed? That he had tried so hard to make her laugh? That he had taken her to get ice-cream before coming here?

Was it wrong that he cared too much?

No, it wasn't he decided. He had been fortunate enough to have someone at the point of his life where he needed it most, to help him when he needed it most. It was for this reason that he had become a hero in the first place, to help those that needed it most.

Actions may often speak louder than words, but often all that was needed was words.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it sweetie. It's just – it's just that these people can do a better job at taking care of you than I can." He tried to explain only to cause her to become even more teary-eyed at his words.

"I knew it, you're leaving me!" she cried out as she let go of his cape with angry tears of frustration streaming down her face at his apparent betrayal.

"No, never!" he declared fiercely causing her to stop crying and look at him hopefully, as he came up short on how he would fix this. Looking at his brother he was only met with a look as clueless as his own as to how to remedy the situation, Saitama only offering a meager shrug in response.

Suddenly being struck by inspiration as he came up with an idea, he quickly turned to the side as he pulled out something from his pocket, said item being none other than a whistle he used to sound off during his and his brother's races during their training. The girl trying vainly to sneak a peek at what he was doing before he suddenly turned towards her with a large grin on his face.

"Tell you what, if you promise to behave and wait here to meet up with your parents. I'll give you my greatest treasure," he said as he waved his hands around dramatically before suddenly bringing forth an ordinary looking metal whistle on a black cord.

"Ooh" she said in apparent awe at the intro before looking at it oddly for a second and turning to him "What is it?"

"I told you, didn't I? It's my greatest treasure!" he declared animatedly, so much so that he almost believed it himself

"Hey, isn't that our practice whistle – guh!" Saitama managed to get out before he got elbowed in the gut by Naruto to shut him up.

"Looks just like an ordinary whistle to me" the girl commented disbelievingly as she looked at it with apparent disinterest.

"Looks can be deceiving, this whistle is special, it's actually thanks to this that both my brother and I are superheroes!" he enthusiastically proclaimed as it was technically true as he had actively used it during the course of their 'training' to keep the two of them on track.

"Wow" the girl whispered in awe as she looked at the ordinary looking whistle in a new light. Now, she was a fairly intelligent twelve year old and as such she wasn't one to take such claims as a magical whistle lightly. However she had seen firsthand the impossible feats that the pair of brothers were capable of. There was no rational explanation that she could come up with for their abilities, if this whistle played any part in making them into what they were now, then it most certainly was a treasure.

"Not only that, but I also have the pitch this particular whistle makes memorized. Which means that no matter how far away it is I can still hear it, this means that when you blow it I will be able to show up just in time to save the day!" he said excitedly, this also being technically true as either brother could pick up the unique sound their training whistles could make from hundreds of miles away.

"Wow, really!?" she shouted in shock at the idea of such an awesome thing as a personal superhero, she nearly jumping in place out of sheer excitement.

"Really, really" he promised with a smile as he gently pressed the whistle against the palm of her hand as he held onto it for a moment "But, you have to promise to only blow it in case of an emergency. I'm sure you know the story of the boy who cried wolf?" he warned as he looked at her sternly, getting a serious nod from her at that before he smiled and let go.

She quickly set about placing the whistle around her neck, "Perfect fit" Naruto commented with a sad smile just as she looked up at him with big watery eyes. Shooting forwards she pulled him into a tight hug as she clung to him desperately whilst burying her face into his shirt.

"I'm going to miss you big brother" the girl cried out as in the short time she had known him she had felt as if she had found someone that really understood her, that shared the pain she felt at the moment.

Naruto could not help but let out a strangled laugh at that. To think that he of all people would have someone calling him big brother was a new experience for him.

Even though he often acted the more mature of the two, he was someone that constantly relied on his brother for emotional support. He was always the little brother, the one that always needed a shoulder to cry on when things got too rough. To be the one supporting someone else was fulfilling in ways he had never imagined possible. Is this what his brother felt like? He the unshakable pillar of the world who could withstand anything and not break under the pressure?

It was painful, it was satisfying. It was happy, it was sad. He didn't even know what to feel – is this sort of responsibility, this sort of strength that was required to hold upon your shoulders the weight of others' lives what had driven his brother to become as he was?

Suddenly every single life that perished in the attack from Big Blue held weight, suddenly civilians were people again. Had his brother felt this crushing weight of failure with every success as he himself just had? The knowledge that no matter how fast you were, no matter how strong you may be, you simply could not save everyone – no matter how hard you tried?

Is that why he had urged him not to get too attached?

Hugging the small girl back however he was reminded of why heroes existed in the first place. Amidst even the greatest of failures a hero could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This little girl in his arms at the moment was his victory.

He might not have saved her parents, or even the thousands of people that died in the wake of this most recent of tragedies, but he did save her. She was living testament to his actions on this day.

He could miss a trip to the grocery store for this…

"I'll miss you too Imouto-chan" he said amidst happy tears as he hugged her back

In their careers it was rare to make friends, most people treated them like costumed weirdos rather than heroes after all, but he could honestly say that today he had made a friend in her.

Looking towards Saitama he managed to glance at the look upon his face as he stared sadly at the two before he turned away from the scene. His expression as uninspired as ever.

He had an awesome big brother…

Breaking the hug he looked down at the petite girl in front of him with a sad smile "Well, we better get going! Got places to be, people to save and all that!" he said as cheerfully as he could, his statement causing the girl to nod understandably at that as she looked at him with a heartfelt smile.

"Good luck" she said softly as she clutched the whistle tightly in her hands

"Take care of my little sis for me old man!" he shouted as he waved back at the director

"I'm only thirty-seven!" the director shouted back after him as he and his brother left the room

"No one asked you old man" his little sister happily quipped back causing the director to groan at that and for Naruto to smirk as he heard her from down the hall.

"Well even though I already know your name thanks to the two fools that came with you, don't you think you should introduce yourself?" the man prodded causing the girl to frown at the way he referred to her friends.

"They're not fools, they're heroes" she replied with a glare and as much as the man wanted to say otherwise as the two weren't registered with the Hero Association as professional heroes he could not deny that they're action in bringing this girl to the shelter when they had no need to was in no way any less heroic. So maybe they were heroes, after all heroes didn't need to save the world to be labeled as such, small things like this could make a difference and impact people's lives in their own way as well.

Laughing at the girl's declaration he could not help but concede on the matter "Maybe they are!" he laughed causing the girl to grow even more frustrated at that as she thought he was laughing at her.

"Whatever, my name is Aoi Tachibana and it's definitely not a pleasure to meet you" she bit back as she crossed her arms angrily in front of her chest, and just like that the director's smile was gone.

This was fixing to be a really long day…

-x-

With Naruto and Saitama

The two were currently walking through the shelter in silence as the mass of people in the large domed construct parted before them in fear.

"So the training whistle…" Saitama started as he drummed up some conversation

"It was all I had on hand at the moment," Naruto replied defensively "Plus technically what I said was true, so I didn't lie"

"Never said you did," Saitama replied, slightly surprised at how defensive he was getting "It was just I'm surprised you would give it away like that is all" he explained causing Naruto to look sheepish at he having jumped to conclusions like that.

"Sorry," Naruto apologized "Yeah I just – I don't know. It's just this whole situation reminded me a lot of that time back then…" He said as he trailed off in thought

"You mean with the green haired woman and the unnamed city?" Saitama asked curiously as this was one of the big mysteries surrounding his brother that he had been trying to get to the bottom of for years.

Nodding Naruto continued "She was just like me back then, alone and afraid. Wanting someone – anyone to lend an ear, to offer a hand. It's like the roles have become reversed since then. It makes me wonder if I could bring myself to do such a thing for someone that I thought important." Naruto said as he looked at his open hand curiously before closing it into a fist

"I know what you mean, to destroy an entire city for someone. All the lives lost… that must weigh heavily on her conscience. I'm sure it haunts her to this day." Saitama said wisely in a rare moment of insight

"Through bonds another person's life can become worth more to someone than the lives of others, sometimes even the life of that person themselves. That's why when a tragedy strikes the ones that you worry about, the one's that you cry for, are those closest to you. If you're hundreds of miles away and you hear that thousands of people died in a tragedy just like this one, you don't mourn the calamity, rather you hope. As morbid as it is you hope that everyone else died rather than that one person that you care about. The mother hopes that it was the son of her neighbor that died rather than her own, the husband hopes that it was his friend rather than his wife. Powerful bonds outweigh weaker ones and if you find the person you care about among the dead, only then do you allow yourself to truly mourn." Saitama said sadly

"Whether you know it or not that single life is worth more to you than thousands of others, the one person that you care about outweighs the thousands that you do not. That Naruto is how a good person can become a monster – that is what leads someone like your green haired friend to kill off an entire city for a single person." Saitama explained as pain swam in his usually dull eyes

"But it doesn't make any sense, she didn't know me well enough to craft bonds of such magnitude!" he shouted in confusion "She didn't even know my name" he said sadly as he cast his eyes downwards, only to feel Saitama wrap an arm around his shoulders comfortingly.

"You don't need a lifetime to craft bonds like that Naruto, all you need is a moment" Saitama explained "In just a few hours you have built a lasting bond with that girl that will impact her for the rest of her life. I bet you that even after both of us have turned to dust and that girl is on her deathbed, she will still be clinging onto that whistle you gave her and remembering this very day." Saitama said seriously as he dared not underestimate the mark that Naruto had left upon her today with his actions.

"That's so sad" Naruto said with tears in his eyes

"That's life," Saitama responded with a shrug, "It's part of the path that we set forth to face on the day we both decided to become heroes"

"Yeah" Naruto answered back as he wiped away his tears "I guess we did" he said as he offered Saitama a smile that eventually faded back into a thoughtful expression.

"What about our bond?" Naruto asked curiously

"Our bond?" Saitama repeated only to get a confirmatory nod from Naruto, causing him to give the question a good deal of thought as he knew that this was important to him "Definitely worth a few million lives in my opinion. That green haired girl destroyed a city for you, I would destroy a hundred." He answered decisively, earning an awed yet also frightened look from Naruto at that as he knew that Saitama could very well back up his words and there would be little that could be done to stop him.

"Wow, I never thought bonds were that powerful. I guess that if I was forced to do it I might, I mean I don't think I can see myself trying to go through life without my bro by my side!" Naruto said as he got out of his rut and back into his usual jovial mood.

"Yeah me neither, why I don't think I could survive more than a few weeks without mooching off you" Saitama jokingly replied as he followed along

"Try a few days" Naruto laughed

The two walked out of the smashed in doors of the shelter and were given way by the numerous frightful people outside that were looking at the enormous hole that was cutting through the same skyscraper that had offered them protection from the mysterious being. The hole Saitama himself had created with just one punch. As they walked however Saitama could not help the thoughts that crossed his mind at his most recent conversation with his little brother.

Truth was that even though Naruto saw him as this unshakable pillar of fortitude and valor, a person that would not succumb to his emotions or likely be defeated by a powerful foe, he too had a single glaring weakness. Those powerful bonds that he spoke of, that often empowered others to act was his greatest weakness. His brother, Naruto, was his greatest weakness…

Because for Naruto there was nothing he would not do, he had lied when he had said he would end the lives of millions for his little brother. For the truth was that to him his little brother was worth seven worlds just like this one.

That was to say if the choice ever came to present itself for him to choose…

He would destroy seven worlds just like this one if only to allow his brother a chance to live.

Naruto had given him a purpose, had provided him a reason to live when he had none, and then driven him to pursue his lifelong dream of being a hero…

His emotions as dulled as they may be, his hopes as asinine as they now seemed, lived on within his little brother.

He the unstoppable would help guide the hopeful. Such was his purpose, his calling. He was his little brother's hero and that… was more than enough for him.

Maybe one day, maybe he could expand upon that and find something more to live for. Build upon his bonds and become just weak enough through them, where he could finally find happiness…

-x-

City Z Supermarket

"Hmm" Naruto sounded off thoughtfully as he looked over some crab legs "Hey Saitama?"

"What?" the bald man responded as he looked over from the dairy isle, ignoring a mildly attractive female that walked past him and laughed softly into her hand at his appearance.

"Doesn't this remind you of someone?" Naruto said as he held up the crab legs with a smirk, causing Saitama to look over them with a contemplative frown.

"Old lady Chiyo?" Saitama offered, getting a laugh from Naruto at the dig at their former crooked landlady.

"No, nice one though!" Naruto laughed "Think about it though, doesn't this remind you of our old buddy crab head" Naruto reminded him causing Saitama to strike his fist into the palm of his hand in realization.

"Oh I remember him, it was on the day I found you!" Saitama said aloud in remembrance

"Ah correction, it was I who found you" Naruto corrected

"Are you sure about that? Wait, was this before or after crab face?" Saitama asked confusedly

"I – you know what, I honestly can't remember" Naruto said with a shrug as he came up blank on that particular question.

"You remember the kid though right, the one with the cleft chin?" Saitama said while withholding the tiniest of smirks.

"Oh, you mean that kid!" Naruto laughed "The one whose chin looked like a large pair of-" Naruto said with accompanying exaggerated hand motions before he was cut off.

"Hey would you two ladies take your conversation elsewhere, some of us want to get our shopping done before it gets dark!" a creaky old voice shouted at the two of them causing them to stop mid-conversation at that.

"Hey, who are you calling a lady you – you old lady!" Naruto lamely countered as he turned around and came face to face with some old crone, she instantly making him grimace in disgust at how close she was. I mean how had he not noticed her? She was practically breathing down his neck!

"Nice one, that's telling her Naruto" Saitama mocked at his lame response

"Oh, shut up you" Naruto bit back

"You two that's who, now could you move out of the way!? I want to have dinner cooked before it's time for breakfast and I don't fancy staying here all night hearing you two gossiping about your glory days!" the old crone croaked at the two, causing Naruto to take an offended expression at that.

"Oh yeah, well your face is so ugly that-!" Naruto started before he heard Saitama cough into his hand and noticed that he was causing a scene. He spotting a young mother dragging her five year old son slowly away from him as said child pointed while laughing at the weirdly dressed man.

However not one to be discouraged by what others thought he tried again, "Your mom is so old that-!" he started again only to stop once more at the sound of his brother face-palming as he shook his head in shame while numerous people chuckled at his antics. The old lady only raising her eyebrow curiously at his currently blushing face and weird hand gestures.

Here he was, a young adult dressed in what looked like a children's superhero costume trying to start fights with little old ladies in the supermarket.

What the crap?

"My apologies, I'm sorry for my lack of consideration. Please go right ahead Ma'am," he respectfully replied as he swallowed what little was left of his pride while standing aside and bowing politely to the old woman.

Blinking in slight surprise at his sudden change in demeanor the old lady let out a surprised thanks at that before grabbing what she wanted and walking hurriedly away from the two costumed weirdos.

'Hope you choke on those crab legs you old hag!' Naruto hissed in his mind at her retreating figure

"Are you cursing that old lady out in your thoughts?" Saitama asked as he walked by him with the basket causing Naruto to let a surprised sound out at that

"How did you know!?" Naruto demanded as he followed after his brother with the crab legs in hand

"You make a face reminiscent of a baby T-rex choking on a meatball when you are giving someone the evil-eye" Saitama replied causing Naruto to actually stop to consider what such a thing would look like

"Hey you two" they heard someone call out from one of the aisles causing them to turn and spot two smiling females making their way towards the two of them.

The pair looked to be in their early twenties and were quite attractive, one having fair skin and shoulder length blonde hair that fell down to her shoulders with two hair antenna's framing her face. While the other had lightly tanned skin with her onyx black hair set into a professional looking bun, her fringe covering her left eye from view as she smiled at the two politely. They both had soft features currently settled into a small smile as they gazed upon the funnily dressed pair. Overall they were quite the curvaceous beauties.

Although the black haired one seemed quite preoccupied with looking anywhere but at Saitama for some reason. All things considered they both looked like office workers that had recently gotten off work and just gotten into their casual clothes. In other words they were their exact opposites.

Raising an eyebrow Naruto pointed at himself questioningly with Saitama mirroring the action shortly after getting a gentle laugh from the blond haired beauty.

"Yes, you two" she said with a good-natured eye roll at the two

"Bro is she talking to us?" Naruto whispered as the two walked over

"I don't know, I think so" Saitama replied with a small frown as this unexpected situation

"What should we do?" Naruto asked not used to something like this happening

"Just act normal, they probably just think we're employees or something and need help" Saitama answered showing he was as clueless as to what was going on as Naruto.

"Normal, right" Naruto muttered cynically as he looked down at his outfit. Yep, about as normal as a heart attack.

"Can we help you ladies with something?" Naruto quickly offered with a disarming smile as he bought into Saitama's logic of the girls thinking they were store employees, after all the employees did wear yellow aprons.

The blonde haired girl raised an eyebrow at how polite he was being but trekked on "Well yes, you see me and my friend here couldn't help but seeing your little episode earlier and we thought-"

"Wait, what did you see?" Naruto cut in defensively

"Better yet what did you hear?" Saitama asked, as he thought that would be the more controversial of the two things.

"I deny everything!" Naruto exclaimed as he started backing away only for the two girls two break into giggles at the outburst, confusing the two caped crusaders.

"Well frankly we thought you were hilarious, we haven't laughed like this in a long time" she said amidst her chuckles "We would like to get to know you two better, as friends and possibly something more later on. No commitment at this point, just you know, it seems like it would be fun to hang out with you guy's is all." She explained to the two stunned males as she blushed cutely while trying to explain things properly without sounding weird.

"What she's trying to say is that we think your honest and eccentric personalities are refreshing and we would like to get to know you a bit better." The dark haired girl explained as she saw her friend stumbling over her words at the finishing stretch.

They expected many things from the pair, what followed was not one of them.

"Don't look Saitama! It's a mirage! They're just figments of our imagination!" Naruto cried out dramatically as he covered Saitama's eyes with his arm "There's no way cute girls like them would ever walk up to us in public like this!"

"It must have been the natto, its gone bad" Saitama suggested

"What really, since when?" Naruto asked as he shielded himself from the view of the "mirage" with the crab legs as the pair walked, or more like stumbled, away.

-x-

With the two girls…

"Aww, they're shy!" the blonde haired girl cooed at the sight of them leaving together

"They just totally blew us off and chalked us up to a mirage caused by food poisoning" the dark haired girl commented more than a bit miffed at that whilst looking disbelievingly at her friend.

"Ah, but they also called us cute! That and they only thought we were a mirage because they thought we were attractive and were possibly a tad too forward with them." She countered causing her friend to come up short for a moment, before picking up on what she had last said.

"A tad too forward you say? All that was left was for you to bend over for that blondie of yours, he's like what, 17 or something? Barely legal - why he's so young he could have been your little sister's academy classmate." The black haired girl teased prompting the blonde haired girl to blush at the insinuation

"Don't you judge my taste in men, I saw you looking at that baldie ever since he came into the store. Those side-glances of yours don't fool me, why you were so infatuated with him I wouldn't have been surprised to find you sucking on his big bald-!" she shouted before a hand clamped over her mouth to silence her.

"Shh, there are children here!" the dark haired girl cried out with a blush as she covered her friends mouth with her hands while blushing fiercely at that.

"Head, I was going to said head!" the blonde girl replied as she ripped the other females hand from over her mouth "Sheesh, perv much?"

"You know my tastes are, uh, unique – anyways, I just can't believe you would do something like that! When you told me we were taking the weekend off together, I didn't think you meant this!" The black haired beauty said embarrassedly to her friend

"Oh come on, it's about time I got you out of that damned office! Working for the Hero Association is fun and all, but those emergency shelters can get pretty stuffy you know? That's one of the reason's I'm so insistent on getting us moved over to central command at A city, that and the fact that Z city is getting a lot more dangerous recently." The blonde haired girl said thoughtfully

"What really?" the black haired beauty asked curiously as she had not heard about this

"Yeah, you didn't you hear? The abandoned sector expanded a quarter mile simply in the last three days! I mean there's only been like six mysterious beings in the last two weeks. Wow, I guess you desk jockeys really are out of the loop, and here I was thinking that Anton over in security was simply full of hot air." The blonde haired chick said with a teasing smirk at the end as she crossed her arms in front of her chest while sending her friend a pitying look.

"Hey it's not that bad, the pay's really good and the benefits are nothing to scoff at either." The black haired beauty defended "It's not like everyone has to be on the ground floor actually keeping people happy and calm in order to keep them safe, proper maintenance of vital systems and monitoring equipment is important as well. Safety is our number one priority after all." She said with a small smile

"Ugh, I didn't ask for a refresher in company policy or to remember our corny motto either. The people at central in A-city actually get to do stuff! Work together with heroes and relay the necessary information to actually get the job done! While we have to sit on our hands while waiting for an all clear. I'm fine with leaving the hero work to actual heroes, but I don't know, I just wish that I could actually feel like I'm making a difference you know." she said as she visibly deflated at the thought

"Sometimes I would like to feel like I held some more significance than simply another pretty face. You might like your job Misaki, but I can honestly say that I hate mine. Almost anyone could do my job, it's simply stand here, walk gracefully over there, point out how secure shelters are as you list useless facts about them. The only thing that actually counts as mildly helpful is the part where I try to keep people as orderly as possible as they file in or out of the shelters." She said towards the newly identified Misaki, who could only looked wide-eyed at the fact her friend looked like she was on the verge of having a breakdown. Maybe this girl's trip was more for her friend's benefit than for hers all things considered.

"I got degrees in telecommunications, mechanical engineering, even god damned aeronautics all with the singular belief that I would be making a difference! Be it in the military, Special Defense Force, or most recently the Hero Association. All I wanted to make a difference, yet where am I now? I'm at a dead end job where the only real qualification is looking pretty!" she shouted in frustration whilst looking to be on the verge of tears.

Misaki having taken the opportunity to take her towards one of the guest benches in the store, decided to try to help her friend work through the sudden bout of depression that had struck her. Now she wasn't someone that could say that she was happy with her job either, but unlike her friend she was satisfied with it. It was a living, but she could easily see where her friend was coming from, after all she was the one that had stayed up with her all night while she was studying for those tests of hers. She had seen just how much shit her friend had gone through to get each of those degrees through that insane military accelerated program. To limit her to a job based on mere appearance was not only an insult to the effort she put in, but an insult to her as well.

"Hey it's alright, these things happen." Misaki comforted as she rubbed the girl's back soothingly "It's a lengthy process to get into A City, we've already signed up for the waiting list. It's only a matter of time until we get transferred, you'll see."

"No, it's not alright! We both worked our butts off on our technical assessment tests, we should be at the top of that damn waiting list!" She angrily cried out, she finally getting fed up with all this complacent bullshit "But no, we see assholes like Miyazaki being sent there when he can't even tell apart a damn pressure relief valve from his own dick!" she shouted as she kicked the shelf in front of her angrily before deflating in apparent defeat.

Looking at her clenched hands on her lap for a moment, she found her thoughts slowly drifted towards the intrepid duo that they had met mere moment's ago and she could not help but feel envious of them. To do what they wanted without concerning themselves about what others may think or mere appearances, it was like they had broken free of this wretched system she found herself trapped in. Maybe that was why she had wanted to talk to them, to spend some time with them.

Just looking at the two go through their everyday lives seemed to fill her in ways she simply could not explain. Their world just seemed so simple. They said what they wanted, acted how they wished, and their purpose was so clear that even she could make it out from but a glance.

They were heroes… at least as far as they were concerned.

Looking at the two of them, it just made her feel…happy.

Slowly a small smile found its way upon her face, as she found her eyes drifting off towards the pair to see them debating over which snacks to purchase. However she quickly noticed the difference between what they did and how that scenario would usually play out. Instead of arguing over which one was better the brother's simply grabbed both and threw them into the basket. Each taking what they wanted for themselves before moving on to look for something else.

Is that what she was doing wrong, is that what she lacked? Decisiveness? Could it really be that simple?

Feeling herself perk up at the revelation, she could not help but gaze at the two in a new light. As she looked at the blonde haired boy from afar she could feel it, he had the fortitude to see his dreams through. The sheer determination to achieve whatever he might decide upon – the bald one possessed it as well. Now, maybe she was overthinking things and these two were simply costumed weirdos that had dropped in from some anime convention or something, but there was something undeniably special about the two and even a blind person could realize that.

"Well you seem a lot better all of a sudden - what happened, did you come up with some crazy ploy to solve all our problems?" Misaki asked jokingly as she noticed her friend's sudden change in demeanor all of a sudden.

"In a way" the blonde haired girl answered mysteriously with a small grin

"If you want we can go to that deli place you like now, you know the one with those dainty sandwiches you like so much" Misaki offered her friend, only to get a shake in the negative from her as the grin grew even wider at that.

"Maybe later, but right now I think I know exactly what I want," she declared as her eyes settled determinedly on the blonde haired teen from before as a predatory smirk settled upon her face. This time – this time she would get what she wanted.

-x-

*Beep*

"Okay, why are you following us?" Naruto demanded from the two females that were trailing after the two of them.

"Oh, so you acknowledge that we are not mirages" the blonde haired girl teased

*Beep*

"Yes, now why exactly are you following us?" Naruto conceded, not noticing Saitama shake his head at the question.

"Well first of all we already said that we were interested in you two and you have yet to give us a proper response concerning that and secondly…"

*Beep*

"There's only one register open" the blonde haired beauty deadpanned as she pointed to the register they were all waiting in line for, where currently the old lady from before was getting her produce scanned.

"Naruto can you move over a bit, I'm so close I can smell her ugly" Saitama whispered urgently into Naruto's ear as he referred to the old crone in front of them which he was currently almost pressed up against. Naruto having backed up into him and squeezed the line together after the two obviously delusional chicks from before showed up again.

"I don't think that's possible bro," Naruto said as he raised an eyebrow at the two busty girls currently behind them "Okay I don't know what has gotten the two of you so interested in us in the first place, but me and my brother are not interested in pursuing a relationship at the moment." Naruto explained, deciding to nip this at the bud as quickly as possible.

Now as corny as it may sound the problem wasn't the two girls, no in Naruto's eyes they were the hottest most deluded chicks to have ever shown an interest in them. Especially considering they were wearing their superhero costumes at the moment. No, the problem lay with the two of them.

I mean what would they have to offer to a relationship? They were two guys living together in a shared run-down apartment that pretended to be superheroes for fun. The only reason they got by was the odd jobs he did every once in a while and anonymous donations from grateful citizens.

They had absolutely no prospects to speak of and their sole merits lied with their otherworldly strength and skills. Frankly he wasn't someone that would mooch of two pretty, no doubt hard working girls like that, he was better than that.

"We're not?" Saitama asked curiously, this being the first he had heard of this, that is before getting a look from Naruto which instantly reminded him that Naruto was usually the one that paid their bills "I mean, we're not!" Saitama declared before quickly grabbing a magazine from the nearby rack and acting as uninterested as possible, not noticing that he was holding it upside down in his haste.

"Come on you can't say you aren't a little interested" Misaki said as she pulled down on Saitama's magazine with her finger and gave him a charming smile, she making sure to give him ample view of her cleavage in the process.

However rather than flustering Saitama as she expected, he only frowned slightly at her "I have pepper spray" he announced as he reached threateningly towards his utility belt.

Quickly backing off Misaki raised her hands in mock surrender as she backed away and made herself look as small as possible after her failed seduction attempt.

"Okay I think things may have gotten off on the wrong foot here, how about we start over" the blonde haired girl announced as she tried to disarm the currently tense situation, holding out her hand towards Naruto she introduced herself "My name is Kasumi, I'm twenty-three years old and work a fairly unfulfilling job at the Z-City emergency shelter. I like gardening, cats, and just about anything that can get me to laugh. I dislike posers and self-entitled losers that get everything handed to them because of who they are related to rather than hard work. My dream is to move to A-City and work at central command where stuff actually gets done!" she said with a large happy smile as she looked at a surprised Naruto at her thorough intro.

"Uh, right, it's a pleasure to meet you Kasumi" Naruto replied awkwardly as he shook her hand, he wanting to refer to her by her last name but not being provided one.

"Well?" Kasumi asked as she waited expectantly

"Well, what?" Naruto asked in confusion

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself as well?" she asked with a small frown as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at him expectantly

"Bro, what do I do?" Naruto quietly asked Saitama as he had never been presented with a situation like this before.

"I don't know," Saitama lowering the magazine he was using to hide himself behind from the two crazy broads whispered back "Just go with it, worse comes to worse we'll lose them while they pay for their items" he suggested, getting a nod from Naruto at that

"I suppose it's only fitting, my name is Naruto, no last name. I too like gardening, but I also like reading manga and western comics for inspiration in my hobbies. Asides from that I also like finding ways to save money, be it a sale or otherwise. Hmm… I guess if I hated something its blatant liars and naked villains. My dream is to find a certain someone and continue to do what I love to do!" he said decisively with a large grin at the end causing both girl's to smile at his enthusiasm.

Taking over Misaki thought it prudent to introduce herself as well "My name is Misaki, I like my friend Kasumi here am twenty-three and I also work at the Z-City emergency shelter in the logistics department. I like …" she started before she trailed off with a small blush as face remained near expressionless, "Anyways I enjoy reading romance novels and dislike a great deal many things that require much more effort than they are often worth, as such I like things that are worthwhile. The same can be said for relationships. My dream is to support Misaki with her own and one day settle down to have a family." She said with a small smile at the end, causing Naruto to look quite impressed at her introduction as well before all of them turned to Saitama.

"What?" he asked curiously as he noticed them all looking at him, the old lady having almost finished getting her items rang up and he having settled himself comfortably to read a fishing magazine as he waited.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Kasumi asked as Misaki looked on expectantly at him

Looking at Naruto for a moment and getting a shrug from him, he decided to comply "My name's Saitama and I'm an average guy who's a hero for fun." He replied simply before going back to his magazine, leaving the three sweatdropping at that.

"Can't you do a bit better than that?" Kasumi pressed causing Saitama to look at her thoughtfully at that

"I'm also bald," he offered "All my hair fell out, see?" he said as he showed them his head casing Naruto to face palm and Misaki to blush for some reason.

"Sir, you're next" the cashier called out as she noticed the line wasn't moving

"Finally," Saitama said as he put the magazine back on the rack and set about placing their groceries on the conveyor belt "Naruto, the coupons" he reminded him

"Oh right, anyways it was nice talking to you two" Naruto said dismissively as he started towards the register while riffling through a small pouch and pulling out coupons.

"Wait! Do you think we could meet up again sometime or something – I mean as friends?" the blonde haired girl pleaded as she saw her opportunity slipping by

"Oh, yeah sure no prob" Naruto replied without really paying attention as he started handing the cashier coupons for the corresponding items as they were scanned.

"Great!" she cheered as she handed Naruto one of the company business cards with her contact info on it.

"Thanks," Naruto replied distractedly as he took it, this being just as he noticed the old lady from before struggling with her groceries. "Hey you, do you need any help?" he called out causing the girls to notice the old lady as well.

"Your total comes up to 1860 ¥" the cashier said as Saitama dug through his wallet for exact change only for the ground to shake and for the coins to move out of reach inside the pouch frustrating him.

Suddenly another tremor rocked the establishment causing the two girls from earlier to cry out as they grabbed onto a nearby shelf in order to prevent themselves from falling over. At this point numerous people broke into panic as they all tried to rush out of the store out of fear. Naruto's eyes however were currently settled on the old lady from earlier as he saw her stumble and fall onto her knees as her groceries spilled all over the floor.

"Hey are you okay!?" Naruto shouted worriedly as he made his way over to her before his eyes suddenly widened at he felt something approaching "Get out of the way!" he shouted as he pushed past a random fleeing civilian in order to reach her in time.

"Here, I have exact change" Saitama said as he went to pay the cashier only to find the woman lying on the floor while looking fearfully towards the far end of the store.

Following the woman's line of sight he turned just in time to see Naruto roughly grab the old lady from before by her coat and throw her out of the way. Naruto himself merely being able to look up for just a split second just before he was crushed along with the entire far end of the store.

Saitama could hear the two girls from before screaming in horror at the sight while the coins in his hand clinked lifelessly across the tiled floor as they fell.

"Well… that was unfortunate"

-x-

Chapter Note's and Bio:

Now before anyone starts crying out OC, I will inform you that Misaki and Kasumi are in fact NOT original characters of mine and neither is Aoi. Aoi appears in the actual series but only as unnamed civilian girl for the intro.

Misaki is actually Z Branch Committee Girl, which appeared in episode 9. However in this she works logistics at one of the Emergency Shelters at the moment, this is out of personal choice in order to stay close to her friend. You can look her up in the wiki if you wish, the only things I changed was that like Aoi I named her and that I gave her tanned skin and black hair, rather than her usual fair skin and brown hair. The only reason she is acting unprofessional at the moment is because she's off the clock, she's a totally different person at work. Her personality is formal, intelligent, and calculative. However she is also fiercely protective of Kasumi and even though the two are the same age sees her as a little sister of sorts.

Kasumi is actually Shelter Nr.7 Girl, which I do believe only appeared during a flashback in the manga. In this however she was only recruited into the Hero Association recently and decided to focus on her studies a bit longer in hopes of making a bigger impact. She is also in the wiki as well, though she only has a stub. Her appearance is the same, she only has her hair down due to not being on the clock and is currently wearing casual attire like Misaki. She works on the ground floor of one of the emergency shelters in Z city in the same position that she had canonically. Her personality is bubbly, intelligent, and insecure. She tries to look out for Kasumi, but it usually ends up the other way around.

They at this point are only acquaintances with Naruto and Saitama, there is no romance there yet, only an interest. Whether they decide to pursue the pair romantically remains to be seen, especially since they have stricken out every time they even tried this chapter. They will play a larger role in the story once Naruto and Saitama actually become professional heroes as they will be their people "on the inside", so to speak.