AN: So... I managed to get another chapter in this week by some miracle, yay! I had wanted to get to episode 6 since I first started writing this fic. Just a warning though, I am crap at fight scenes and they always come out a bit short. R&R and have a great day!
Another Saturday afternoon had arrived once more, letting a rather boring week go by without any much to do.
Lola had been at work, Kaiyo at school (ninety percent of the time) and Saitama had been left at home with Genos, who now lived in the apartment due to his bribery with an insane amount of rent money.
There had been a good amount of complaining of the young boy's part due to the now constant presence of the cyborg in his home, involving 'not wanting a brother in that way' and 'the apartment was already a sardine can as it was' but his pleads fell on deaf ears. Ears covered by enough money to last them for a good while in case something happened.
It was just after lunch and a lazy mood had settled in, mainly for Saitama and Lola. The former was propped up by a pile of blankets and pillows in just pajama pants, laying comfortably while reading a manga he'd picked up the day before, and the latter had her head resting on his lap, periodically cracking open an eyelid to gaze at her husband's bare abs with a slight grin. Then there was Genos, who was sitting at the low table and incessantly writing about what he deemed important. And that meant pretty much everything.
"What are you writing over there?" Asked Saitama, averting his gaze from the manga in his hand.
"I'm recording the details of your lessons and training regimen." Genos answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
The C-class hero restrained the urge to groan out loud and settled for making a face. Each day that passed the metaphorical bar was raised more and more and he was running out of stamina to jump over it each and every time. Saitama couldn't think of even just one thing to teach the blond on how to reach the levels of strength he'd reach during those three years of training. It was like he was scamming the poor guy for goodness sake!
Lola picked up on her husband's thoughts and opted for not intervening. It was his own fault he'd agreed to become a sensei in the first place and now had to deal with the consequences of promising something in the rush of the moment. Now he was thinking on making up some techniques or spiritual theory to mask the fact physical training was all he had to go on, knowing Genos wouldn't be satisfied with just the basic option. Poor guy, he was broadcasting his panicked internal monologue so loud it was almost as if he was talking out loud to her.
"By the way, at the seminar they said that if you're a C-class hero and you have no hero activity for a week, your name will be removed from the Hero Registry. Will you be alright, sensei?"
The woman was surprised about what the cyborg had said and waited for the information to settle in with her husband. This was going to be good, he had done nothing but laze around at home all day as usual.
Three…Two…One…WHAT?!
Saitama got up faster than the naked eye could see, accidentally throwing Lola to the side, and braced his hands on the table. "That said that?! But I was watching TV and there wasn't anything going on."
"Oi, a bit more care, will you?" Lola complained as she sat up.
"The news only reports major incidents, like natural disasters, terrorism and dangerous monsters. You always fight the most powerful enemies, so you probably do not know it, but C-class heroes primarily take care of purse snatchers, robberies and random attacks." Genos stated, having memorized some parts of the introduction and Hero Association website. "With C-class so full of heroes, to survive they must actively look for cases to resolve. I hear many of them get discouraged and change careers. Like a salesman doing cold calls, nothing will come to you without legwork."
"This is no time to be reading manga!" Shouted the bald man.
Quickly grabbing his caped yellow jumpsuit, Saitama wasted no time in stripping of his pajama pants and putting on his hero costume at an immeasurable speed. He didn't pass by just one point and end up in the lowest class only to fail right on his first week as a professional hero! It wasn't his fault for not having paid attention to the seminar anyway, that thing had been even more boring than his math teacher's classes in middle school.
"So, we're going?" Asked Genos as he got up from his place at the table.
"You stay here. If I'm with an S-class hero a C-class like me won't get any credit!"
"But, as your disciple-"
"Genos." Interrupted Saitama in a serious voice. "From the beginning, my intense desire to be a hero was what drove me to strength training. That's how I made it this far. For you, things will change if you aim higher as a hero. Frankly speaking, you're a cyborg, so training your body won't do. Instead, a change in mindset may lead you to greater strength." Yep, he was just making it up as he went along. Now what else to say? Looking around, he saw the mange he'd dropped on the floor, remembering it was about having will and some other stuff. "So… in other words, it's not about having raw power or technique, it's about training your mind. To do that, you must first fight your way through the professional hero industry by aiming to break into the top ten of the S-class heroes."
Lola held in a laugh and shook her head. For a guy who despised long overcomplicated speeches he sure managed to put on a good one on the spot. She could more than clearly tell he was more than clearly bullshitting his way through a vague assembly of words, and that wasn't just because she was picking up on his thoughts like he was yelling into a loudspeaker. Those were some of her favorite moments, when he stumbled with thoughts and began making up things to gain enough time to extract himself from the situation. Ah, memories.
"I understand." Genos nodded with conviction after a few seconds. "I will try, sensei!"
Sighing in relief, the bald hero was out the door in a flash and running through the deserted streets of his neighborhood and into the heart of Z-City.
He needed to find a bad guy and fast!
Meanwhile, as Saitama made his way further into the city, two A-class heroes were making the opposite trek into the outskirts that were rumored to be infested with monsters.
The Hero Association had placed together a mission for the investigation of the ghost town due to rumors of a potential disaster brewing in that area, most undoubtedly due to monster activity spikes that had been appearing for over ten years and kept rising with each passing time.
Two men walked alongside each other through the less and less busy streets as they approached their target. Golden Ball was a tall blond man approaching his thirties with a short shave and beard who, in all honesty, looked like a gangster with the baggy clothes, letterman jacket and white bandana on his head. Spring Mustachio, on the other hand, was in his middle forties, which was apparent by the wrinkles on his face, with combed short black hair, a thick handlebar moustache and a well-pressed dark-green suit. The two couldn't look more opposite but worked very well together, having undertaken several missions as partners and even meeting up for drinks in their spare time.
"Z-City is quite expansive, but further up ahead lies the uninhabited area we were told about." Commented Spring Mustachio as he twirled his moustache with a light grin.
"Yeah, let's get on with it." Golden Ball gave his answer while lightly biting on the lollipop he had in his mouth.
Both heroes continued their path along the city streets, passing by less and less people while signs of monster destruction became more and more evident. A hole in the road here, a vending machine with claw marks there, some broken and warped street signs, not to mention the insane amount of posters warning about the presence of monsters
"Z-City is quite expansive, but further ahead lies the uninhabited area we were told about." The older man motioned towards the end of the street. "Compared to other cities, this one has an abnormally high rate of monster-related incidents. The frequency has been gradually increasing over the past ten years, while the last few have seen more and more highly advanced monsters appearing. The residents have entirely fled for the city center."
"I know all that. That place is a real ghost town, just with the water and electricity still intact, yeah?"
"On the lookout for a cheap house?"
"Not in your dreams." Golden Ball scoffed. "People say something real nasty is living around here. Even you must've heard.
"But of course. I assume that's why we have been assigned this investigation."
Stopping in front of a fence that divided the inhabitable area of Z-City from the ghost town part, the two heroes stared at the numerous warnings both in plaques and posters warning anyone that came close enough not to commit the mistake of daring to go further ahead and to do the sensible thing, that was to turn around and go back the way they'd came from. The neighborhood had been just like any other at one point, tall buildings, wide streets and everything else, but with no one around the mysterious beings had more than obviously taken over and made themselves at home with destruction all around.
"We better be ready to fight."
"Indeed, we mustn't let our guard down."
Jumping over the man-made obstacle without problems the men continued their mission, now with more care than ever. Anything, even the slightest noise, could be the sign of an impending threat looming over them, ready to strike at the slightest provocation, or even lack thereof.
"But, why here? Why the increase in monsters here?"
"That's the mystery, many theories have advanced, but my own is this: a colony of monsters is naturally producing more of them or perhaps a queen exists, birthing more of her kind."
Kaiyo slowly walked around the neighborhood, hands behind his head while he gazed at the sky, carelessly drowned in his own thoughts. He sure loved a good stroll after a swim in the river in the afternoon.
He didn't have much time to walk around in his original form since he spent most of his time around humans, only being able to release his disguise at home, and with Genos living in the same apartment as him that option was out the window faster than his father could chow down into an entire bowl of udon. It was beginning to feel cramped to look like just another normal human kid twenty-four/seven so he picked that Saturday afternoon to take some time for himself.
As soon as Kaiyo had left the apartment his whole body had turned pitch black and his eyes grew big and round, looking bloodshot as if he hadn't slept in a while, taking away all the appearance he put on as a regular eleven year-old. His hair also underwent a transformation, going from brown dreads to kombu seaweed that covered his whole body from top to bottom in a mass of tentacles that he could control at will. He sure loved the way he looked, truly terrifying due to his human child-like appearance, and wouldn't wish to be anything else in the world… but it wouldn't hurt to have shared more traits with his mother.
His mother… Lola… mom. The woman who had taken him in alongside a human man he also now called dad on a regular basis as if he was truly their child. Did he have another mother and father out there? Maybe. Monsters came from somewhere and his own mother had a set of parents, even if one was human.
"A monster!" A shout came from behind the young monster.
"Huh?" Turning around, he was confronted by two men. One wearing a suit and another looking like some sort of gangster. "I didn't know there were people around." He muttered to himself.
"Golden Ball, are you ready?" Spring Mustachio assumed a combat position.
"Hell yeah! Victory to the swift!" Answered Golden Ball, biting his lollipop.
"Oh, are you heroes?" Kaiyo asked, but he already knew the answer to that. For someone to come into the abandoned part of Z-City they had to be either stupid or heroes. Or his family.
The gangster-looking man took out a high-tech slingshot and aimed at the monster in front of him. "I can blast through a 20mm steel plate with one of my shape-memory golden bullets! Eat this!"
The projectile flew at an alarming speed towards the monster boy, turning from a sphere to a drill-like bullet midway through, ready to gut through its target like it had done many others… only to be flicked away by one of the seaweed tentacles and into a wall, causing a small explosion and leaving a sizeable dent.
Kaiyo could feel one of his eyes twitch. These two jackasses had appeared out of nowhere and attacked him as if he was some sort of criminal… well, he could fight too and it wouldn't be pretty. Sending one of his tentacles though the storm drain it managed to snuck up on the unsuspecting shooter and wrap itself around his leg from behind.
"What?!"
The hero was swung across the air in an arch in order to gain momentum and pulled underground, dragged though the storm drain with painful cries, then back up in the air and slammed into a nearby building with enough strength to make him cough up a good amount of blood and likely break a few bones.
"Golden Ball!" Shouted the A-class hero, knowing that attack had more than knocked the wind out his partner.
Readying for his turn to partake in the fight, for his life and the one of his friend, Spring Mustachio removed the handkerchief from his breast pocket and, with a snap of his fingers and a flick of a wrist, a brief cloud of smoke erupted from it and his trusty sword appeared in his hands.
Launching a barrage of tentacles, Kaiyo attempted to breach the defenses of the only standing hero, but found that this one possessed much sharper reflexes than his partner, each and every attack countered with a precise movement of the sword. Soon enough the fight blurred into indistinguishable slashes with only the young boy's body remaining still as he watched in awe as his attacks were repelled.
Pulling back his hair from the barrage of strikes, Kaiyo grinned. "Wow." He whispered. Could this be the rush his father was always seeking? Or was there something more challenging to be had?
Spring Mustachio narrowed his eyes squared his shoulders. He had to use it. His most powerful attack. Placing his right foot forward he drew back his blade, making it coil and store energy. "Tomboy… thrust!"
The sword extended an incredible length, going farther than its target and ending up embedded in a building in the turn at the end of the street… But it had not hit the one who Spring Mustachio had been aiming at, who had sidestepped in a flash and avoided certain death by a little less than he cared to admit, leaving him only with a hole in one of his tentacles.
"Not bad." Commented the young monster with a casual tone.
The A-class hero could not believe it. The creature had slipped past his Tomboy, his trump card in any battle and the surest way to end a confrontation with any enemy. Drawing back his blade, he began to sweat from the stress. This wasn't proving to be any good, with Golden Ball knocked out and injured and his swordsmanship skills outmatched there was no way he alone could end that fight. He was up against a monster with an infinite number of tentacles as strong as steel who could use them as whips, something out of his power range. He had to call the Hero Association and fast!
"May I ask if you were born in this neighborhood?" Slipping his cellphone out of his sleeve behind his back, Spring Mustachio began sending a distress signal while attempting to distract the monster in front of him with the question.
"Huh? No, at least I don't think so." Where was he from anyway? Kaiyo really couldn't remember much about his life before being adopted to be honest. "Why, are you here because monsters keep appearing around these parts? If so, I should warn you not to go around too much because you may end up worse than your friend over there. There are rumors about monsters gathering here too, but they're just that rumors, especially since there's two crazy strong ones around here."
"What? There are?"
"Yep. But you won't be around to meet them, so don't worry about it."
There was a laugh as another barrage of tentacles flew in the hero's direction, this time with more cruelty than the first one. The fight resumed with more battle cries from Spring Mustachio and laughter from Kaiyo, accompanied by the sound of clashes between steel-like tentacles of a monster and a sword of a hero, the noises echoing though the empty streets.
Soon enough the seaweed proved to be mightier than the sword as the latter shattered, leaving the man open to an onslaught of attacks that left him bloodied, gashes and rips tearing across his suit and staining it with red that bloomed from his skin.
Gasping for air, the hero finally accepted his fate as he let go of the hilt of his broken weapon with a dark laugh. It seemed like this was how it all was going to end. "Now I see… If it means running into monsters like this all the time… I wouldn't want to live here either." And, with that, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell unconscious to the ground in a heap.
Glaring at the now down for the count A-class hero, Kaiyo crossed his arms and shook his head. "Man, this was boring. I thought it was gonna be fun but it was boring. The first time I kick a hero's butt and nothing exciting happens. Anyway, I gotta keep going, it's almost snack break and at least having Genos around means I can order him to make me something."
Turning around, the boy prepared to leave, when he saw a figure approaching. Tilting his head, he tried to make out who was this person. Another hero? They were wearing a cape, so… Wait. Could it be…? Uh oh.
Saitama was returning home after finally having apprehended a bad guy to maintain his presence in the C-class, a certain… Damn, what was his name? Seed-on-the-Ground… Lost-and-Found… Jack-'o-Lantern Panic… Whatever, what mattered was that he got to keep his hero status and even found a sale going on a supermarket during his trip back home. Crab meat at half price along with some potato chips he and his son liked to snack on and some other things Genos could use to make dinner (he and Lola were taking advantage of the fact their new roommate could cook).
As he kept walking he spotted someone with wild hair standing in the middle of the road, the hair looking like it was moving on its own. Wait, it really was moving on its own. Yep, that was Kaiyo alright. Stopping in front of the monster boy, Saitama looked past him to see two men collapsed on the ground, both bruised and bloodied.
"Hey." The eleven year-old lifted up a hand in an awkward gesture.
"Hey." Saitama responded. "You know, technically it's my job to beat you up for attacking people. Your mother would say you acted recklessly."
"But they attacked me first! I think they're heroes or something. One even called for backup when he though I wasn't paying attention, so others could come at any moment!"
Sighing, the bald man kept walking forward, motioning for his son to come along. He wasn't about to meddle in this thing and hoped neither was Lola. Lola… she had wanted something that morning, but what was it…?
Suddenly a building disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a trail of destruction that went even farther.
"Crap! I forgot to buy kombu stock!" The man yelled out. His wife was going to kill him. For over three days she had asked him to buy that ingredient and he kept forgetting each time.
Staring at the piece of work his father had made of the apartment complex, Kaiyo crossed his arms and pouted as he turned back into human form. "Sure… and I'm the one who acts recklessly."
