Weirdo and Weirdo
Chapter 2: Threat Level Demon
After a very nice two days at the beach, the green-eyed Esper returned to City A; she was "debriefed" on the flight home, and then went back to her place. Saitama had been acting a little peculiar, though. According to him, someone was stalking him.
She had not known the bald hero long, but this seemed pretty unlikely to her. He lived in a dead zone, killed monsters for fun, and didn't have a girlfriend. Who would be watching him exactly?
Still, she humored him.
Tatsumaki was pretty busy with requests from the Hero Association for a day or two, but she did have to talk Saitama down from his paranoia at one point. He was convinced that some weird men's beauty monster had stolen a French fry – one French fry – from his plate at some family restaurant.
It was honestly beginning to concern her.
The following day, she finally had some free time again, so she decided to see what he was up to.
But there was a problem.
Baldy wasn't returning her texts.
He didn't answer when she called.
Tatsumaki wasn't sure whether she should be worried or irritated, so she settled on doing chores to keep herself busy around her apartment.
She wracked her brain trying to think whether she had said anything to weird him out or upset him. Nothing really came to mind; she thought she had been somewhat supportive regarding the French fry theft and paranoia. She briefly entertained the thought that he was too intimidated to reply to her, but that just seemed ridiculous. He wasn't the type. Maybe his phone was just out of power.
She stopped cleaning. Worry and irritation could work together here. She just needed to go to his place.
She figured it was acceptable and not clingy or weird. There had been no answer all day. He'd basically given her a pass to come over to help whenever with the test anyway. It was really his fault for not replying.
She decided to fly over and see what the deal was.
It was a relatively short flight at her cruising speed, and it was late afternoon when she arrived in the airspace over his weirdly deserted neighborhood. When she arrived at his building, though, there were ominous signs. His roof had a hole in it, there was metal debris everywhere, and the street by his apartment was torn apart.
It was also mostly covered with gore.
What the hell happened here?
There was no trace of Saitama, just some weird dead lion thing and what seemed to be shattered metal parts. Up in the apartment she found nothing.
It was hard to imagine that something had really happened to him. He was… well, strong wasn't the word. Stupidly strong maybe.
Still, she was worried. It looked like something attacked the place, and then he had turned it into paste, but he was gone. That implied there was some other enemy out there.
Flying around, she saw no evidence of where he might have gone. Honestly, she figured he could have run basically anywhere.
"Damned baldy. Answer your damn phone!"
She flew around in frustration for almost a half hour before her phone rang.
"Hey, you called?"
She exploded. "WHAT THE HELL SAITAMA? What happened to you today? You don't answer all day, then when I come over here your place is torn apart and there's leftover lion on the pavement. WHAT'S GOING ON?"
"Woah, uh, calm down Tatsu. I can explain. Just give me a minute," he said placatingly. She could imagine the not-nearly-panicked-enough face he must be making.
"Fine. Explain."
"Well, I was out in the middle of nowhere all day with no coverage. I just got back in range and saw you called."
"So what are you doing now?"
"Grocery shopping. Man, with those idiots attacking this morning I forgot it was Saturday. I made it in time for the sale though, so it's fine I guess."
She massaged her temples while floating down to sit on a park bench, ignoring the stares of passers by.
"So what about these guys that attacked?"
"Some weird genetic stuff. There was a robot gorilla- hey, what were they called again?"
She heard someone else's faint voice.
"Right, the House of Evolution. Anyway, thanks to that I almost missed the sale, plus I missed your call. Sorry Tatsu."
Where have I heard that before… whatever. "OK, ok, that sounds like a good enough excuse. This time. Who's there with you anyway?"
"Ah, Genos. He's a robot… wait, sorry, a cyborg."
She furrowed her brow. "He's the gorilla?"
"No, no, he's a guy I met the other day when the mosquitoes were around. He's pretty wordy but he's all right."
"OK… So, are you busy tomorrow? We still have to go over the essay questions."
"No plans here. Just message me when you want to look at it, unless you get some work to do. Looks like I have to check out, but I'll see you tomorrow I guess."
"Sure, sure. After I flew all the way over here…"
"Ah, thanks for coming by. Sorry if I worried you."
She coughed nervously before replying. "As if! I'm going to head home. I'll message you tomorrow."
"Cool. Good night Tatsu!"
"Later, baldy."
She hung up and stretched. The park was quiet, and it was getting dark.
"Well, maybe I can find some muggers or something…"
….
After breakfast the next day, and a quick message to Saitama, she headed over to City Z. She actually thought about inviting him to her place instead, but she was home enough as it was already.
She hated to say it about her own apartment, but it was boring there. Saitama's apartment was at least different, and unlike a cafe or something, people would leave her the hell alone there.
Still, the commute was annoying, even in the air.
Today she had decided to wear something a little different than usual, and had picked out a nice green silk shirt, black jeans, and sandals. She had turned in front of the mirror in her bedroom, then nodded to herself, smiled, and departed.
"Nice patch job on your apartment," she said by way of a greeting when he let her in.
"It works," he shrugged. "Had breakfast?"
"Yeah. I'll take coffee if you have some though."
"Ah, it's pretty lame coffee. You sure?" He replied over his shoulder as he headed to the sink.
She made a face. "I'll be brave and try it."
"You look different today by the way, you know?" he said while he made the drinks, not turning around.
Tatsumaki fidgeted a little. "Yeah, well, I don't wear the same thing every day after all, dummy."
"Ah, well, it looks good on you."
Now she was definitely fidgeting. She tried to stop.
"Here it is. Don't say I didn't warn you, Tatsu." He handed over the coffee and sat down.
She took a big sip to cover her reaction to his offhand compliment.
Mistake.
It was not good, not at all. She asked for tea immediately upon tasting it.
"Bleh. Ok, let's talk about the essay stuff," she said after he apologetically provided tea.
"Sure thing," he said sitting lazily across the table. "Just a heads up, I'm not much good at these."
"Then we'll start with the basics. They're one hundred percent sure to ask why you want to be a hero." She looked at him, exhibiting some measure of real curiosity. "So, why are you a hero?"
"Well," Saitama started, looking away from her, "I tried doing heroic things as a kid. It never seemed to turn out well. By the time I knew it I was out of school. It was pretty bland. Then about three years ago, I'd just failed another job interview, and I saved this kid from a monster. It was tough. I finally killed him with my tie. After that, I decided to become a hero for real."
"Your tie? Why didn't you just punch it?" she asked.
"Oh, I hadn't started training then. So I was weak," he said matter-of-factly.
"Weak? Seriously?" It was a little hard for her to imagine.
"Yeah, that stupid crab monster beat the tar out of me. So anyway, I started training."
Tatsumaki was confused. "So, you were just a guy looking for a job three years ago? What kind of training did you do?
He looked at her, surprised. "You want to know too? Those evolution guys and Genos were curious too. I did 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and then a 10km run every day. It was about a year before it took, but I finally got strong."
Her eye was twitching as he calmly sipped his tea. Pushups? Seriously? Am I expected to believe that? But as she thought about it, about what Saitama had been like in the few days she had known him, about what fighting was like for him, it actually made sense in a warped baldy kind of way.
"You know what? I believe you. It's too ridiculous to make up," she announced after a long silence.
He looked at her oddly this time. "Of course it's true. Why would I lie about it?"
Before she could say anything in reply, the doorbell rang.
"Expecting anyone?" she asked, mildly annoyed at the interruption.
Saitama shook his head, then got up to answer the door.
"Sensei! I've come to be your disciple!"
"You're kidding, right?"
Tatsumaki almost choked on her tea hearing that, and turned around. Coming in to the room with her host was a young adult, blond… robot.
"Eh? Metal arms and a tank top?"
"My apologies, Sensei! I was not aware you had a guest." He bowed gracefully to the green haired girl. "My name is Genos, and I am hoping to become Saitama-sensei's disciple."
She stared for a moment, before floating up to look him in the face. Then she turned to Saitama. "Disciple? Is this the guy I heard on the phone the other day? From the grocery store?"
He rubbed the back of his head and looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah. He decided he wants me to teach him."
"Teach him what?"
Saitama shrugged.
Genos, who had been watching this exchange carefully, broke in. "Pardon me, but are you the S-class hero, Senritsu no Tatsumaki?"
She rotated to look at him and tilted her head. "Yeah. What about it?"
"Incredible. Master, you're even more amazing than I believed. To think that you are friends with the most famous hero in the world! It's more than I expected, and yet, given your incredible display yesterday and the day before, it is perhaps more reasonable to expect such a thing as a matter of course—"
As Genos kept going, Tatsumaki side eyed Saitama. "Is this...normal?"
"...I think so, yeah."
"Yo robot, shut up!"
"My apologies, Ms. Tatsumaki. I was overwhelmed."
She facepalmed. "Right, whatever. Sit down Saitama. We've got stuff to do."
"Yeah, Genos, good that you came over and all, but Tatsu is going over the hero exam with me." He sat down again.
"You're registering as a hero, Master?"
"It's Saitama. And yeah, Tatsu convinced me."
"Hmph," she sniffed. "I just wanted him to get credit where it's due."
"Such a generous attitude! I truly hope that you and Saitama-sensei will share your wisdom with me."
Tatsumaki turned her head to stare pointedly at Saitama, who shrugged helplessly.
"Perhaps I should join the Hero Association as well, if only to emulate you, Master."
"Dude, you need to calm down. I'm just a normal guy here. Not a master."
"Such modesty!" He shook his head in admiration.
Tatsumaki felt a headache coming on.
….
A low level psychic storm was circulating in the well-appointed apartment of the S-class hero, Senritsu no Tatsumaki. Small household articles, clothing, a cup of coffee, and various other items were flying around in a slow green whorl.
In the center of the disturbance was the tornado herself, Tatsumaki. Her green hair was bouncing slightly from the wind, but she was currently oblivious.
What do I wear?
The reason for the undefeated hero's current state of alarm was an invitation.
The hero exam was coming up tomorrow, and she had spent almost every day with Saitama recently, barring some obligations that had come up. They had half-heartedly looked at the exam, but spent most of the time just hanging around. She had read manga at his place, they had played a few games on an ancient console he had, and they had even wandered around City Z looking for trouble.
They'd actually found a few monsters, which had been entertaining. That had surprised Tatsumaki, who was usually bored with easily defeated enemies, but it was a lot more fun with Saitama around. She was compelled to show off a little, and he always complimented her when she did something novel with her powers. Plus watching Saitama "fight" was amusing.
She had seen him walk away unscathed from some weird enemies over the past week, even when they scored direct hits, and when he was the one to take them out, it was always over with one punch.
The robot… cyborg… Genos guy had been around some too, which had been a little irritating at first, but he was pretty good at taking a walk when she seemed to indicate he should leave.
Also, he apparently was working with whatever mad scientist made his parts to get some new upgrades to be "worthy of Saitama-sensei's instruction."
She had done hero work some days of course, but nothing too exciting. Saitama's biggest news was the day some bald terrorists had gone on a rampage, giving him the impression that they were going to "steal his look."
She'd teased him about that one for the whole rest of the week.
The days had passed easily, but the day before, Saitama had mentioned something to her just as she was heading home.
"Ah, Tatsu, I almost forgot. Genos found this flyer for a street fair in the city tomorrow. I thought we could check it out together." He held up the flyer for her. "Summer festival I think. Looks fun I guess. Want to go?"
It had taken a good deal of effort to calm her reaction.
"Whatever avocado, I guess I could take pity on you and hang out some more. What time?"
"Starts late in the day, so just come by here at six or so."
"Hmph. All right, see you then."
So she had flown off quickly, to make sure he did not notice that she was nervous.
It sounded way too much like a date, but he said nothing about it being a date. Plus he wasn't nervous at all. And if he was asking her on a date, he should certainly be nervous. She had no reason to be nervous at all, because she was a completely normal grown up adult who had lots of experience going on dates.
Is this a damned date or not? I can't ask the dummy!
And so, her dilemma. Tatsumaki planned to wear a hat to conceal her identity, but she also had a desire to look cute.
It's not like I even care what he thinks. Stupid baldy. He should be grateful I'm even going!
She was tempted to ask Fubuki for advice, but disregarded that thought when she considered what her sister would ask her.
Definitely not worth it.
She would just have to work through this herself.
….
Saitama looked impressed when he opened the door for her. "Woah, you look fantastic, Tatsu!"
She attempted to cover her broad grin and accompanying blush with an impertinent huff. "I'm always fantastic. Anyway, you ready?"
After departing Saitama's depopulated neighborhood, they made their way across town via taxi, since Tatsumaki was not interested in drawing attention to herself. Dressed differently than usual, wearing a little beret, a skirt, and thigh-highs, she did not think she would be recognized.
The fair was pretty lively, but nothing really unusual. Just people around, laughing and having a good time. Saitama looked happy enough when she glanced at him, a little more cheerful than his usual blank look anyway.
After walking for a while, she sat down while he started checking out the food stalls, and shortly returned with two plates of some rice dish she'd never had before. They ate quietly, just watching people go by.
"Hey, I want dessert," she announced. She turned to look at him, saw that he was nodding, and led the way. She bought two candied apples, since he picked up the other thing, and handed him one.
"Ah, man, I haven't had one of these in ages." He looked like he was remembering something fondly.
"When was it?" she asked between bites of her own apple.
"Middle school fair. One of the clubs had a booth with these. Maybe the baseball team? Anyway, they were great. Some guy ended up robbing the ticket booth though, and I got beaten up trying to chase after them."
She looked at him, a little alarmed. "Really baldy? They beat you up?"
"Oh yeah," he said, finishing his apple. "It was pretty ugly. The cops caught up while I was getting beaten, though, so they all got booked for it. Got made fun of for a while because of the two black eyes I think."
She had to smile a little bit at that. "Is that a good memory, then?" Tatsumaki took another bite, and he turned to look at her.
"Well, I think this one's a little better."
Damn it! That stupid honest face again!
She turned away and finished her apple, trying to avoid his now-curious look.
"So, there's a little concert in a half hour or so. Want to head that way?" She pointed toward the stage.
"Sure, Tatsu. Sounds good."
On the way they caught sight of a few game booths, with the usual assortment of ridiculous prizes attached.
"Hey, want me to win you something?" he asked genially.
She snickered. "Sure baldy. I mean it's not like I couldn't get whatever I want myself, but if you want to give it a shot, go ahead and win me something. I'll try not to get too excited over here."
After a moment of looking, he wandered over to one of the booths. It was one of the baseball throwing ones with bottles stacked up.
Tatsumaki rolled her eyes. "Try not to break everything when you throw them, all right?"
"Sure, sure. I'll be careful."
He paid the friendly older man at the booth, then tossed the ball up and down a few times. Three very careful tosses later and he could go double-or-nothing for the next tier of prizes. While Tatsumaki made mock cheers ("Go avocado go!") he went again.
When she didn't stop cheering and started snickering again, he doubled a third time, and chose the stupidest looking prize they had.
"Well here you go, Tatsu. Make sure to take care of it, all right?" He grinned and handed over a three foot tall egg with several green bands and stars decorating it.
She pouted in a quite exaggerated fashion for his benefit. "I love it. You can check it out on display in my apartment sometime."
He quirked an eyebrow, and she immediately wished she could retract her statement.
Fortunately or unfortunately, they were interrupted by a crash from the direction of the stage nearby, followed by shrieking and crying.
Tatsumaki took a breath, then sighed. "Well, since we're here and all…"
Saitama nodded, and they made their way to the stage.
It was a ferris wheel. Or, more like a weird spindly legged dude with a ferris wheel body and a face in the middle.
"What the hell is that?" she pointed and looked at her companion. Saitama just looked weirded out.
About half the crowd had cleared out, and the other half was watching the monster.
"HEY YOU! YOU THERE! WITH THE EGG!" A voice like bending metal came out of the monster, presumably directed at Tatsumaki.
"Eh? You mean me, freak?" she said, now getting irritated.
"YEAH YOU! BET YOUR STUPID BOYFRIEND WON THAT EGG FOR YOU! WELL I USED TO HAVE A GIRLFRIEND TOO, YOU KNOW! SHE BROKE UP WITH ME ON THE FERRIS WHEEL, AND NOW I'VE BECOME A FERRIS WHEEL TO DESTROY ALL THE RELATIONSHIPS! NO ONE CAN STOP ME!"
With this, his ferris wheel part started spinning furiously. She noted idly that the stage was wrecked.
"Oi, wheel guy."
"WHAT DO YOU WANT BALDY? WANT TO DIE FIRST, HUH?"
Saitama scratched his head. "This is a street fair. There's no ferris wheel."
Tatsumaki stared at him. The crowd stared at him. Saitama just stood there.
"YOU'RE GONNA DIE CUE BALL!"
It was crying now.
"That is way more than enough," Tatsumaki said. In an instant a nimbus of green power covered the thing, and it stopped cold. She floated over in front of it, not neglecting to float the stupid egg along too. "All right you MORON. I was having a GOOD TIME here and you just had to come along and SCREW IT UP!"
The crowd began murmuring, some already taking pictures of her.
"My turn."
Tatsumaki snapped her fingers, and the nameless ferris wheel monster shattered into a bloody mess.
Fortunately none of the blood got past her shield, so she, Saitama, the crowd, and her egg were all safe.
"Trash." As she spoke, the crowd was cheering, some already rushing up to her to babble excitedly and thank her for saving them. She floated higher, out of reach, and was about to start yelling when she caught sight of Saitama.
He was watching her, a little grin on his face.
"You're welcome, I guess," she said loudly, then turned and flew away, the egg trailing along behind her. Once she was out of sight she called Saitama's number.
"Yo, Tatsu. Nice work."
She laughed. "Yeah, a real tough one. I ran off to avoid the crowd. What do you want to do now?"
"Um, how about head back to my place. It's still pretty early. I mean, unless you want to head out."
"No, no," she said emphatically. "I can come by and play games or something."
"Great! I'll grab a few snacks from the fair and meet you there."
"Cool," she said, watching the egg float in front of her. "I'll see you in a few. And Saitama?"
"What is it, Tatsu?"
"Grab another couple of apples ok?"
….
Tatsumaki had booked a private room at a nice enough restaurant in City Z, not too fancy at Saitama's insistence, to celebrate the results of the hero examination. Since the exam had taken basically all day, they scheduled the dinner for the day after.
Genos had been invited too, as he was still hanging around with his "sensei."
At least he had mostly stayed out of her way. He was polite and deferential to her, which helped.
She was dressed in a light jacket and a skirt, and had worn sunglasses and a hat to disguise herself when entering the restaurant. She was just waiting for the two of them to show up.
The only issue now was controlling her rage.
The cyborg had been special-promoted to S-class. Honestly she didn't much care, but the other result really made her mad.
Saitama had been placed in B-class.
B! What the fuck were the examiners thinking!
She had wanted to give them a piece of her mind as soon as Saitama had told her, but he had calmed her down.
He said it wasn't worth making a fuss over, and he would be fine in B-class.
It still rankled though. She had recommended him herself, after all. The only reason she hadn't flown off the handle was the other thing Saitama had said to her last night.
"Don't worry Tatsu. I'm just glad we're both heroes now. I probably would have bombed the test without your help."
So she had decided to avoid headquarters today. Fortunately for them, they had not called her.
"Hey, been waiting long?" Saitama asked as he entered the room.
She floated over to him and gave him a very quick hug, which he returned before she moved away again.
"No, not long," she said, floating back to the table.
"Good evening Ms. Tatsumaki. Thank you for the invitation to dinner." Genos said after walking in, bowing to her.
"Eh, sure," she said absently. "So congratulations guys. Sit down."
"This place is pretty nice Tatsu. You sure you're ok to pick up the tab?"
The green haired woman scoffed and crossed her arms. "It's no big deal, avocado. Order whatever."
Smiling, Saitama perused the menu. Genos did the same.
"So what happened exactly, with the test?" she asked while they waited for entrees. "You said you'd tell me."
"Yeah. Well, after the test, they called me for an interview. There were a few suits there and it took a while. They said I got a 90, and asked a bunch of things."
"Like what?" she inquired.
"About a few monsters recently, plus the giant thing from the day we met. They asked how I knew you too."
"Really," she remarked flatly. "What did you say about it?"
"Just that we met the day that giant showed up in City B. They were getting a little pushy, but they eventually backed off."
"Hmm."
"Sensei, Ms. Tatsumaki, they also asked me about the two of you," Genos broke in.
"Really? Those nosy pricks." Tatsumaki was glowing a little. "They were checking your story, Saitama. What did you tell them, cyborg?"
"The truth. I do not know whether they believed everything, however."
She narrowed her eyes. "Those scumbags probably asked just enough to make trouble."
"Well, whatever. At least I won't have a weekly quota. They told me that at the interview."
"I'm confident that you will be in S-class before long, sensei. Your strength is incomparable."
"Well, enough about that all right," Saitama said uncomfortably, looking at the still irritated Tatsumaki. "We're officially heroes now, so it's fine." He looked up absently. "I'll even be getting paid. Not bad."
"You could always take me to an actual restaurant sometime with your new paycheck, you know," the Esper noted a little haughtily.
Saitama smirked. "Maybe I will."
Dinner ended up being quite good, and Tatsumaki was in a much improved mood looking over the dessert menu, when someone walked into their private room.
"Oh my, looks like quite a party here this evening. I didn't think you were the type to help other heroes, Senritsu no Tatsumaki," Amai Mask commented with a beatific smile fixed in place.
Her good mood evaporated instantly.
"Eh? You know this guy?" Saitama asked with a blank expression.
"What the hell are you doing here, Amai Mask? This is a private room." She gritted her teeth.
"I just came to welcome our newest S-class hero, of course." He turned to Genos, who stood up when he was addressed.
"You are Amai Mask, A-class rank 1, is that correct?"
"That's right."
"May I ask the purpose of your visit?"
"Just to greet you, and give you a little welcome gift from the Association." He tossed a package on the table.
"That's very… kind of you." Genos glanced over at the fuming Esper at the end of the table.
"A hero should be beautiful and elegant, as well as competent in the performance of their duties to the public, Genos. See that you remember this."
"I'm not in this for admiration. I am following the path set by my sensei."
"Your sensei?" he asked.
"Saitama-sensei," Genos replied, inclining his head toward the bald hero.
Amai Mask was silent for a moment. "This? This is your master?" He placed a hand carefully over his face and laughed. "Unbelievable! This one? He's the one I rejected for A-class yesterday. You're already a disappointment to me, Genos."
Saitama started to speak up, but before he could even get a word in, Amai Mask flew out through the doorway, enveloped in a green aura. There was a crash from the end of the hall.
Genos was thrown against the wall, while Saitama was looking over at the green haired girl flying by the end of the table.
"That, that, FUCKING PRICK! IT'S HIS FAULT! I MIGHT HAVE KNOWN! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'D FUCKING EXPECT!"
"Hey, woah, calm down Tatsu! Just don't worry about it, ok?" Saitama took her arm and tried to get her to calm down.
She started breathing normally again. She could be calm.
"Well, the brat shows herself to be a brat as always."
Tatsumaki felt her chest freeze. There in the doorway was Amai Mask, his outfit torn up, with the same superior expression.
This asshole…
"You had better back off, Mask, before I decide you don't need limbs anymore. Now GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"
"Hah, what a little kid! You're going to kill me for insulting you? Is this a playground brawl to you?" He was laughing now, the same condescending smile on his face. "What do you think—"
"Hey," suddenly, without Tatsumaki or Genos seeing him move, Saitama was standing right in front of Amai Mask. Given his expression of total surprise, Mask hadn't seen him move either.
"You need to leave," he said, his face now totally serious.
Getting over his shock, Amai Mask started in again, "What are you supposed to be, her—"
But they never heard what he was going to say, because suddenly he and Saitama were gone.
"What the…" Tatsumaki's rage fell off as its target disappeared. "Where the hell did they go?"
"Outside, I believe," Genos said. They looked at each other, then made their way quickly to the parking lot.
By the time they got there, they only found Saitama.
"Where did the asshole go?" Tatsumaki demanded angrily.
"He's gone," Saitama replied.
"Gone where?" she asked, her tone still icy.
"I threw him in the river."
She stared for a few seconds, looking right into his eyes.
"Heh." She snorted, then laughed, then laughed some more. Finally she was doubled over in the air, then rolling onto her back with tears in her eyes, still laughing.
Genos looked at his master, who was laughing along with her.
"That smug asshole. I hope he hits a patch of sewage." She stood, then flew up a bit to look him in the eye. "Thanks Saitama."
He shrugged. "I just didn't want to miss dessert, you know?"
There was quite a crowd watching them now, but the three of them walked back into the restaurant. Genos smoothed things over as best as he could while Tatsumaki and Saitama ordered dessert.
She left about eight times the total bill, plus her contact number, just to make sure no one complained. She knew, though, that someone must have gotten them on film.
"Try not to worry about it, Tatsu," Saitama said over his cake.
"I'll try," she replied. And thanks for keeping it from getting any worse, she thought but didn't say.
Despite his expression, she had the feeling that he understood it anyway.
….
It was, to put it bluntly, very bad.
Tatsumaki actually stayed in her apartment for the entire next day, but things only got worse over the course of the news cycle. The Association had not called about it, but she assumed that was out of fear.
She was embarrassed, and angry, to see the pictures, partial video, and the speculation. What should have been a very nice night had been ruined by that idiot pretty boy. He even rejected Saitama for A-class! She was still mad about it.
She read the paper, then threw it away. Watched the news, then turned it off. Browsed the Internet… then threw her phone across the living room.
That girl is crazy! She almost killed Amai Mask!
She's a danger to monsters, sure, but she's a danger to heroes too!
Do you think she's in love with Amai Mask?
Maybe it's a triangle with her, the cyborg Genos, and Amai Mask!
Is the Tornado a danger to us all?
Not all comments were too terrible though.
Well she was out at that street fair incognito, and she was careful to disguise herself at this restaurant right? Maybe she's just shy.
She wasn't even trying to take credit for that monster. I bet she's doing that all the time, just being a hero undercover!
The Tornado is super strong. Maybe she just didn't want to deal with someone not in S-class?
The worst of them involved Saitama though.
How did this random guy get into B?
Does he have dirt on Tatsumaki or something? He looks creepy.
Do you think Tatsumaki might be into that weird guy?
Is he even a hero? Why did he get B rank?
The disgrace of B-class! Saitama gets in through nepotism!
Saitama assured her that he was not bothered when she texted him, and she tried to believe it. But she was still bothered.
Am I ever going to want to show my face again? she thought as she laid idly on the sofa.
Around noon, her phone rang.
It was Fubuki.
She almost ignored it. Almost. But Tatsumaki couldn't ignore her younger sister.
An hour and a half later, Tatsumaki was finally out of her pajamas, dressed normally, and drinking coffee when her doorbell rang.
"Hello imouto," she greeted her younger sister.
"Hi, onee-chan. You look better than I expected you to look."
Because you always look great, is that it?
As her younger sister sat down at the breakfast table, Tatsumaki pushed away her lingering jealousy over her sister's more impressive figure, and poured her a cup of coffee.
"Well, I figured it would be best to just avoid this until it blows over," she replied, leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling.
"To be honest, I've been concerned."
"Concerned?" Her chair flew forward again as she locked eyes with Fubuki. "I'm fine. I was having a great time, in fact, until that idiot pretty boy strolled in uninvited."
"Yes, and I see how well that turned out." Fubuki said in an even tone.
Tatsumaki took a sip of her coffee before replying. "He's obnoxious."
They were quiet for a minute. Tatsumaki assumed her sister was going to avoid further criticism. "So imouto, now that the new heroes are inducted, when are you going to—"
But Fubuki cut her off, speaking but not making eye contact. "Could you explain what's going on with you and those two heroes? The class S and class B? Will you tell me honestly?"
Tatsumaki narrowed her eyes. "Acquaintances. They're acquaintances. I helped Saitama get registered after I saw him kill a monster in City B. And the cyborg is his wannabe student."
"You saw him?" Fubuki looked unsure. "I mean, are you certain this was all your idea?"
"What are you trying to say here?"
Fubuki sighed audibly. "Is this guy Saitama honestly legitimate? I heard a rumor that King was in City B the day you say you met this guy. Plus, to be totally frank, you've been acting really strange onee-chan. You always tell me I'm weak for having friends, but suddenly every time there's a picture of you online he's in it," she said accusingly.
"Look, it's not the same," she said impatiently. "Saitama doesn't need my help, and I don't need his. He's not sucking up for a higher rank, or hiding out in a group," she sounded disgusted at the thought.
"Then why isn't he defending himself? You've seen the terrible things people are writing. This is awful, and even if he doesn't care about himself, what about your reputation?"
"Don't worry about me, ok? I'm fine." She looked away. "And Saitama isn't weak enough to worry about stupid newspapers or internet trolls."
"So I guess things like that only matter for the weak, right?" Fubuki replied.
"Damn right. This is why you need to move up, imouto! Stop helping those losers and start pushing through A-class!" Tatsumaki slapped the table for emphasis. Her sister looked upset. Maybe she's finally going to listen to me.
"You don't understand at all, onee-chan," she said, frowning.
"Strength is what matters, Fubuki!"
"I'm not strong like you! Why do you always make everything about this…"
"Stop whining! I'm trying to help you here. You never listen!"
"Oh, and you do? Look at the news! People have no idea whether you're being manipulated, in love, or ready to kill us all!"
"I can handle this just FINE myself."
"You always, always act this way!"
"I am doing what I need to do here!"
"Oh, here? In your apartment? When exactly are you planning to leave anyway?"
Tatsumaki glared at her. "I can leave whenever I want! I just don't want to talk to those idiots right now!"
"Just STOP, please." Fubuki sighed and seemed to deflate. "I can't do this."
"Do what? What imouto?" Tatsumaki badgered her, floating to look down on her sister.
Fubuki glared up at her sister. "Never mind. Forget it. You don't want anyone's help, least of all mine. I should have known better." She stood up and started walking toward the door.
"Imouto! I don't need anyone to help me! Understand? No one!"
Her sister didn't reply, and didn't turn around.
And then she was gone.
Shaking, Tatsumaki screamed, and the coffee mugs from the table exploded against the apartment door.
