"Where did you go? Where are you?"

Scanning the inhabited streets of City Z has now been made into an easier job, for the waves of destruction brought forth by the meteor has drastically lowered the average building height. Though there were no reported casualties, no one has managed to leave the disaster perfectly fine either.

People who have lost their houses and their possessions, now with no place to stay and call home.

People who are still trapped in underground shelters or subways for building wreckage has blocked their paths out.

People who have completely lost their jobs due to the destruction of their work area or being sacked by their companies to cut losses.

People unable to use transportation of any kind with the current state of the roads completely pulverised either by the meteor or blocked by fallen debris.

Yet, all Tatsumaki could only worry about was for Saitama's safety. She knows what would happen if he were to be faced with a controversy this big, and the damage that could be inflicted on him would be devastating. She has seen heroes messed up or get defamed horribly in the news till the point that they have had to resigned from being a hero. Some got into such a mess that they blocked all social contact or isolated themselves from the world.

And some... some just straight up kicked the bucket from all the negativity and hate that they have got. The life of a hero is one that shines with brilliance, admiration and respect when you do your job right, but a mess up could easily turn that world upside-down, where hate and spite will make every action you take or every word you mention used against you.

The sun shines high as the esper searched far and wide for him, but Tatsumaki could only be led on a wild goose chase as he could not be spotted at all, despite his outrageous hero costume.

"How is it possible that I can't find him? He should be sticking out like a sore thumb, especially with that shiny head of his!" Tatsumaki began to feel frustrated as the minutes ticked by, beads of sweat began to drip down her face as she continues to look for him.

Yet as luck will have it, Tatsumaki soon spotted a figure shadowed by the sunlight standing at the roof of an apartment complex from afar. With hope, she flew towards him, thinking that she had made it in time. But as she was able to call out to the figure, a light breeze came by and the esper noticed that the figure's silver hair were blown with it.

Watching the hair flow gently with the wind, Tatsumaki's flight speed begun to decelerate as her face of relief contorted. Sighing with disappointment, she turned to search elsewhere, but l back as the approaching figure looked more and more familiar.

"Isn't that... the old fart? What's he doing here?" Upon realising that the figure was the master of Flowing Water, Crushing Rock; Tatsumaki stopped herself in her tracks and approached the Class S Rank 3 hero Silver Fang aka Bang.

"Hey! Old man, what are you doing here?" Bang, who seemed to be staring at something perked up at the sound of the voice, turning around to see who was calling out to him.

"Oh? If it isn't the young Miss Tatsumaki... Hmmm? Well now, this is a surprise!" Bang stared at Tatsumaki closely, making the esper slightly flustered.

"Hey! Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Ho, I'm just surprised to see the Tornado of Terror dressed up differently after all, I've never seen you wear anything other than your black dress. Though wearing that might be a little bit out of your character ain' it?" Bang asked curiously, as he pointed towards the white hoodie Tatsumaki was currently wearing.

The esper confused, glanced down at what she had worn, before realising that the hoodie had a decal on it that said 'Oppai' in bright yellow letters, worse still, there was a crude design right below the words resembling a woman's chest, making it even more provocative.

"OH NO NO NO NO, this isn't mine! This was another person's hoodie! I just happened to take it without looking, I was in a rush!" In a panic, Tatsumaki explained herself, as she constantly waved her hands in front of her furiously to deny whatever Bang could be thinking at the moment, herself feeling mortified that she had flew out into public with that on.

"Ha ha, is that so? It would seem that you have recovered well from the Dragon Incident, that's good. I was worried since you fainted, but luckily that nice hero managed to grab a hold of you in time. I've got to admit, I'll never thought I'll see the day the great Tatsumaki would be carried like a princess." Bang said with a wide smile on his gleeful face.

"Hey! Forget about it! I just happened to be a little off that time! Don't you dare tell the others about it!" Tatsumaki, realising that she was seen by another top class hero in a shameless fashion, tried to make another excuse while her face was flushed even redder than before from all the embarrassment put together.

"Ha ha! I jest Tatsumaki, I jest. Just trying to have a bit of fun for someone my age. Well, to answer your question, I am just here to patrol and help out with the citizens." Bang apologized for his tease to calm the esper down and proceed to reply to her question.

"Say, would you happen to know who that hero was anyway? I would really like to know more about him." Bang asked Tatsumaki, who has begin to calm down.

"Oh him? His name's Saitama, he's a hero who just applied into the Hero Association and is currently in Class C."

"Class C? I must say that is pretty surprising. For a man of such outstanding caliber to only be in that class... Hmmm, I see, I suppose that would make sense now." Bang, understanding something, nodded his head up and down.

"Makes sense? What does?" Tatsumaki asked in confusion.

"That scuffle he's in down there now." Bang answered, pointing down past the edge of the roof behind him.

"WHAT!" In a shock, Tatsumaki quickly flew over and looked down.

She could see from above Saitama, the man she has been looking for and a muscular man with striped hair wearing a striped tank-top. Saitama looks normal, if not a little bit confused as he talks with the tank-top man who appears furious.

"What is this? What is even happening right now old man?" Tatsumaki was flabbergasted that Saitama had been this close the whole time and she nearly flew away from the place too.

"Oh, that man in the tank-top is another Class C hero called Tank-top Tiger. He apparently thinks that Saitama had no play whatsoever in the stopping the total destruction of City Z and was just reaping the benefits off us." Bang explained.

"What! How dare he?! For some pathetic baffoon who didn't even show up?! Pussy-cat! Let me go down there right now and pulverise that puny..."

"HEY BIG BROOOOO! I FOUND YOU-KNOW-WHO!"

Just before Tatsumaki could finish her sentence, a loud shout in the air cutted her off.

"YOU CALLED, LI'L BRO?!"

From behind a pile of rubble, a man in a black tank-top jumped out, landing heavily beside Tank-top Tiger.

"Tank-Top Black Hole is here!" The new man announced himself, yet the atmosphere surrounding him was filled with just awkwardness, so much so that Tatsumaki could not find a reaction to respond but to just stare blankly.

"..., no matter. Just one more small fry to squish after all." Snapping out of her daze, green energy begin to surround Tatsumaki as she prepared to deliver punishment.

"Now, now. You don't have to go down there yet, I'm pretty sure Saitama boy will be able to handle himself well." Bang said, gesturing to Tatsumaki to stay on the side-lines a little while longer.

"Tch, fine." The green glow surrounding her dimmed and her feet gently landed on the roof. Observing the situation again, Tatsumaki stared and hope the situation for Saitama wouldn't take a turn for the worse.

"You fraud, no Class C hero could have climbed that fast in the rankings! You must have cheated, and we Tank-top brothers would not stand for it!" Tank-top Tiger pointed his finger at Saitama, making his accusation towards him crystal clear.

"That's right, you should be ashamed of yourself, taking the work of the other heroes as your own credit?! You're a disgrace to us heroes!" Tank-top Black Hole concur with his arms crossed in full agreement.

"Hang on a moment, you are both just agreeing on something that Tank-top Cider just came up." Saitama denied.

"It's Tank-top Tiger! You should know my hero name by now noob!"

"Hmmm, hmmmm, okay. So, uh... how do you guys want to settle this then?" After pondering for a few seconds, Saitama decided to just let the Tank-toppers resolve the situation.

"Oh, ho that's easy! We're gonna to pound you to the ground, that'll teach you to show some respect!" Tank-top Tiger suggested, shifting to a fighting stance.

Hearing what Tank-top Tiger suggested, Tatsumaki sighed with relief, knowing that Saitama was going to easily wipe the floor with them. But Tank-top Black Hole raised a hand and stopped his brother, and told him some words. Tatsumaki was surprise to see Tank-top Tiger settle down, instead Tank-top Black Hole begin to breathe in deeply, his chest expanding from the inhaled air.

"Oh no, they are going for that move." Bang said with a worried tone, shaking his head.

Before she could even comprehend what the meaning of his words meant, Tank-top Black Hole had already opened his mouth.

"SO YOU'RE THE ONE THAT DESTROYED THIS TOWN?!"

Tatsumaki was startled by his sudden loud proclamation, she was unable to understand what Tank-top Black Hole had prepared.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO SUCH A THING! YOU'RE A HORRIBLE HERO!"

What is he planning to do? Being loud with your voice would just only attract the nearby bystanders to their location...

Oh.

"YOU DON'T FEEL AT ALL GUILTY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE? YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD JUST WALK AROUND THINKING YOU'VE SAVED THE PEOPLE?!"

No, not like this, no, NO!

But it was far too late, before Tatsumaki could try to even drive a wedge into Tank-top Black Hole's plan, the residents of the damaged City Z had already gathered and surrounded the 3 heroes below, determined to see the person responsible for bringing about the pain and misery that they had been enduring till now.

"DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE ACTUALLY DONE? SO MANY PEOPLE ARE NOW IN THE LOWEST OF THE LOW! PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW HOMELESS, PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW JOBLESS!"

No, wait! He saved you all, he saved everyone's life in City Z, he saved so many people from even catastrophic destruction, he saved me!

"YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET THE OTHER HEROES DO THEIR PART AND MAKE IT RIGHT! BUT YOU STEPPED IN AND RUINED IT ALL! YOU DIDN'T CREATE A MIRACLE, YOU CREATED A CALAMITY!"

"He's right, it's all that hero's fault!"

Having been edged on while holding on to the feelings as one who's unjustly suffered, a bystander could not help but agree and call out against Saitama. Which was what Tank-top Black Hole exactly wanted to finish the public execution.

"HEAR THAT?! THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE IN SORROW FROM WHAT THEY HAVE SUFFERED THROUGH!"

That's it, she had to do something, for better or for the worse. But before she could intervene, she was immediately pulled back as Bang grabbed on tight to the sleeve of the hoodie that she has borrowed.

"YOU DID ALL THIS! YOU MADE ALL THIS HAPPEN! YOU SHOULD JUST ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY AND GIVE UP BEING A HERO!"

"GIVE IT UP!"

"GIVE IT UP!"

"GIVE IT UP! GIVE IT UP! GIVE IT UP!"

"Let me go! What do you think you're doing old man! I will use force on you if you don't let go!" Tatsumaki yelled, trying desperately to struggle out from Bang's grasp, but he held on tight.

"No. This isn't a call you can make."

"Why?! They need to know! He saved this town! Just let me down there now!"

A green afterglow began to surround Tatsumaki again, and she begin to levitate herself off the ground, this time with the intention of really shaking off the old man. But Bang's clasp onto Tatsumaki did not weaken one bit, he instead just took a deep sigh and looked at her straight in the eyes, his being gentle but also filled with unspeakable pain.

"Exactly, but this is how they are repaying him right at this moment. Without any information, without any confirmation, the citizens believed the words of a man and have chosen to vent their anger and frustration on a man, nay, a hero, who have truly saved their lives."

Looking down at the bystanders who continues to yell at Saitama, their chanting considerably getting harsher and viler.

"He is strong yes, one of the strongest I've ever seen in my life; and that is precisely why I would not want to see him be used and tossed around in the profession. Therefore, I would not say anything and I would not interrupt either, his choice to quit will be his own and no one else. Consider his feelings for now, young Tatsumaki."

Soon after he said his piece, Bang could no longer feel any resistance or struggle from the esper. Turning around, he saw that the power that she had exhibit diminishing as she landed back down, though her head was faced towards the ground, preventing Bang from seeing her expression.

"I...kno..." A soft mumble could be heard from Tatsumaki.

"Hmm?" Bang who could barely understood what she said, leaned closer to comprehend. He noticed however that on the ground that was close to her, dark spots were starting to form from drops of water. And yet the shining rays of the sun easily shows the distinct lack of rain.

"I...know...that, but.." Tatsumaki said.

"I don't understand why I want to help him... I could just ignore what I'm seeing... But there's this feeling... in me. That just isn't fine with it... What's happening to me?" She looked up at Bang, hoping that he could answer her question.

Bang has kept and trained many disciples in the way of his martial arts for years, and he has become their mentor and helped many of them in issues which they could not cope be it physically or emotionally.

But it truly came as a big shock to him, as the second greatest hero had drops of liquid forming from her eyes. She wasn't crying, no. She didn't even know that she was currently shedding tears at all.

Though he was indeed shocked, Bang gave a warm smile. Even with all the powers that she has, all the recognition and fame she has built, The esper Tatsumaki aka The Tornado of Terror is still a human after all.

"Oh the joys of youth..."

Tatsumaki felt the grasp of the hoodie's sleeve vanished as Bang released it from his grasp. Looking up, she sees Bang stepped back from her, showing no more signs of intervention.

"Are you letting me go? Why?" Tatsumaki befuddled, questioning the old hero's decision. The small drops of tears that leaked from her eyes stopped without her realizing as well, like nothing happened at all.

"He he, I believe that you'll be able to make the right choice, young lad. Go on now, I'll be watching from here." With a wide grin, Bang gently waved for her to proceed.

"Oh! Before you go though, you should probably let me take care of that." Bang with a sudden realisation, called back and gestured to Saitama's hoodie.

"Oh! Okay..." Tatsumaki could only manage to return a small reply before her face blushed red again as she took off the hoodie and passed it to Bang.

"Tatsumaki, remember and cherish this feeling you have." Before she flew off, Bang gave her this last piece of advice, sending her off with a thumbs-up as well.

"Hmph, don't think I'm like this all the time! But... thanks anyway." Tatsumaki expressed her gratitude, though she still tried to mask it with ego. Looking back at the chaotic mess down below, Tatsumaki took a deep breath and stepped off the roof-top.

"HEY! HE JUST MADE A SUSPICIOUS MOVE!"

Tank-top Black Hole, having made the distressed people of City Z turn against Saitama, decided that it was time to finish the job; with the added bonus to their own rise in popularity of course.

"ARE YOU PLANNING ON TAKING OUT YOUR ANGER AND HATRED UPON THE PEOPLE AND HURT THEM! DESPICABLE! BUT YOU WILL NOT TOUCH THEM LIKE YOU DID TO THIS TOWN! FOR WE WILL STOP YOU! TANK-TOP BLACK HOLE AND TANK-TOP TIGER WILL PUT A STOP TO YOUR DESTRUCTION!" Using a small shift of Saitama's movement as an excuse, Tank-top Black Hole used it as a trigger to cripple the C-Class fraud and put him in his place. Preferbly, a ward in a hospital.

"Yeah!"

"Do it Tank-top!

"Stop him!"

The oblivious manipulated citizens cheered on, edging the jealous to finish off the savior of City Z.

"HERE I GO!" Tank-top Tiger took his stance and pounced at Saitama, his hands posed as claws, prepped to rip his target to shreds.

"RAWWWWWWRRRHGH?! Wha?! Hey! What is this?!" Before he could land an attack on Caped Baldy, Tank-top Tiger was stopped in his tracks, literally as he was still floating in the air, stuck in his attacking pose.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" A voice called out from above him.

"!"

"Is that?"

"How can this be?"

"Oh my goodness, it's really her!"

"The S-Class Rank 2 Hero, Tatsumaki!"

The citizens gasped in surprised as the green-haired esper floated down from the sky, her black dress lightly billowing in the wind.

"So, you both are the reason why I can hear a tantrum of noises from across the city." Even though she knows it already, Tatsumaki stated this sentence, easily indicating her displeasure with the Tank-top brothers.

"A...aaaaa...aaahhh." Tank-top Black Hole was absolutely speechless with his mouth completely gaped wide open. He had no idea that the Tornado of Terror would appear at all, heck, what was she even doing out here in this city?!

It's too bad that he didn't know that the esper was here just for his target.

"Well? Answer me!" A piercing glare and a sharp tone was directed towards Tank-top Black Hole, and only those are just enough to trigger his survival instincts. He had to answer now, or face instant devastation.

"Yes Miss! We were just about to teach this C-Class hero for claiming that he assisted in stopping the destruction of Z City from the meteor!" Straightening his back, Tank-top Black Hole stood at attention, cold sweat easily seen forming all over him.

"Oh? Is that so? Then do tell me this, how did you acquire such information?" Her glare did not leave him, instead Tank-top Black Hole could feel the stare getting way more intense, such that it could drill two holes through his body.

"Uhm, um... ehh... about that... We just... you know... kind of... assumed... that he was cheating... you know?" Tank-top Black Hole could only sheepishly reply with a small grin.

"Oh... I see. So you just assumed all of that, right..." At this point, a black shadow casted over Tank-top Tiger and Tank-top Black Hole. Looking up, they can see a huge chunk of debri floating over their heads, easily capable of flattening them without any effort.

"So I can just assume that you both have the capabilities to carry this small piece of rock all right?" Twirling her fingers, Tatsumaki made the debri descend onto them slow yet menacingly.

"No! No! Please forgive us! We were in the wrong! We're sorry for lying!" Tank-top Black Hole kneeled on the ground and pleaded with his might, while Tank-top Tiger could only ask for forgiveness while still stuck in mid-air.

"No." The debri was released and fell down, and the two tank-toppers screamed as they knew their entire beings was about to be squished. But right before it could even touch them, it was stopped and tossed to the side, no one was going to be a pancake today. Both tank-top brothers took a big sigh of relief and that's when released her hold on Tank-top Tiger, causing him to land face-first to the ground.

"Know that I can do much worse than this, and the next time I see you do this again..." Tatsumaki said as she telekinetically lifted the brothers up to her eye level. Tank-top Tiger had a nosebleed flowing down his face, while Tank-top Black Hole easily showed that he is terrified to the very core.

"You'll be very lucky to not feel pain." And with a swipe of her palm, she tossed the two high and far away. And all the citizens staring could only watch their figures disappear as they flew.

"Oh damn!"

"Serves them right!"

"How dare they lie to us!"

"You go, Tatsumaki!"

"SIGN MY CLOTHES!"

The citizens cheered after the Tornado of Terror was done with her punishment. The esper turned to face them, but she wasn't at all happy from the praises, she was furious.

"Shut up!" Her shout instantly silenced the crowd, it was so silent that it felt like the previous noise tantrum didn't happen at all.

"You all didn't even question whether the information you received was true! You just believed it and started to defame this man right here!"

A wave of guilt washed over the citizens, while it is true that they suffered greatly, the fact stays that they chose to direct their misery and anger onto someone who was just blamed as a villain. All they could do now was hang their heads in shame and continue to get lectured by the small green hair esper.

"You should all be ashamed of yourself! Getting manipulated so easily like a bunch of sheep! You people should all go an...Hey, who's doing that?!"

Tatsumaki was going on with her scolding, but she felt a tug on her black dress from behind. Looking around in annoyance, she saw Saitama, staring at her, a serious look on his face.

"It's all right now." He whispered.

"But this people need to understand that..." Her sentence trailed off as Saitama raised his hand in front of her face, stopping her mid-way.

"I'm pretty sure they understood plenty enough already, let's just let bygone be bygones. Let me finish this thing here." Saitama replied with a small smile before turning back to the citizens watching the scene unfold.

They were appalled, an S-Class told to stop by a C-Class? Who was this man with unrivalled bravery to do such a thing.

This very same man proceed to take a breath and shouted out for the people to hear.

"I am the man who helped destroyed the meteor! If you all feel unjustified then say it to my FACE!"

~Author's Notes

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm real sorry about the delay for this story, I did not abandon this but I mainly have two reasons why I could not.

Firstly is that I'm still serving my nation, so even though the National Day Parade is over, I'm now bombarded with admin work and just the military exercise lifestyle.

The second is a creative block, I normally try to picture my story as I write it, but some of the scenes were not satisfying to me, so I constantly rewrite and change the story. Also I wanted to improve on my storywriting by studying to expand my knowledge vocabulary and grammer.

Real sorry to have kept you all waiting, the aftermath to this whole meteor aftermath will be done. Had to split it again since the story was so long :p

I hope you all enjoyed reading this, for I did enjoy reading you guys comments as well. Thanks again and see you soon!

-KickAxx