"What were you thinking?! I just scolded those guys for treating you like some sort of bad guy and you just went ahead and pull that kind of stunt instead?!"
"Hey, hey, calm down. It turned out all right didn't it? Nothing bad happened, and we're all now on our merry way home."
Walking through the deserted uninhabited streets of City Z, Saitama the Caped Baldy was being lectured by Tatsumaki, The Tornado of Terror who was flying above him.
What she was referring to was the actions Saitama did to resolve the aftermath of the meteor incident, whom the Tank-top Brothers, Tank-top Tiger and Tank-top Black Hole used to plot against Saitama. Manipulating the feelings of the citizens that have suffered from the incident, directing their misery and anger towards Saitama in an attempt to publicly remove him from the scene of hero work due to their jealousy towards his rising achievements. However, before the brothers could even try to 'crush' Saitama in a public display, Tatsumaki came in and turned the tables, sending the both of them plunging to a nearby river.
"I shouldn't have even let you stop me, I stopped reprimanding them when you told me to because I believed you were going to handle the situation well from there. But then you went ahead and shouted that you didn't even care what the citizens think?!"
"Hey it was just..."
"No, you zip it!" Saitama tried to defend himself, but the esper immediately interrupted him, her burst of sudden rage filling the determination to finish what she has to say.
"You then proceeded to say that you only chose to be a hero as a hobby?! That you don't need their adoration and that they can hate you all they want?! I know that to you it is, but you can't just go around just saying that! And to top it all off, you called them baldies! Really, baldies?!"
"Okay, I admit I did call them that from the heat of the moment, but the rest is true after all! I rather just live my life truthfully rather than upholding a false image of a hero, that's too tiring for me."
"Sigh... I guess that is just you being you. But you know that because of what you just did, people will still think hold you accountable for the ruination of their lives. You will have an even tougher time continuing on as hero now." Knowing that she had no way of changing let alone even doubt his actions, Tatsumaki could only just give up and go along with it.
"It really doesn't matter to me, after all I do this hero stuff as a hobby anyway, nothing more." Saitama shrugged it off, clearly unaffected.
"Though..."
His walking slowed to a halt as he looked up at the girl floating in the air, a gentle smile shown on his face.
"Thanks for standing up for me, you really did me a solid Tats."
"Eh?" Caught off guard by his sudden response, the esper's only respond was to call out with surprise as her cheeks became furiously flushed with red.
"Hmm? Hey, what's wrong?" Noticing her reaction, Saitama leaned closer to look, but Tatsumaki immediately shied away and backed off quickly.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it!" Her hands shot up, covering the lower half of her flustered face.
What just happened? How could he just say something like that so normally? I can't even look at him now! But he just wanted to thank me, right? Then I'll just say thanks back! But I came here in the first place because I needed to talk about this feeling inside... yeah! Wait, no! How could I just mention something like 'I have feelings for you' to him?!
Tatsumaki's mind was racing in circles as she tried to take control of her thought cycle to no avail.
"Hmm all right then." He said as he spun around and begin to walk away.
"Eh?" She snapped out her thoughts immediately after he finished his sentence. He's just nonchalantly walking away now, just like that?
"He... hey!" The esper called out,
"Okay, what is it do you want now?" At this point, Saitama was starting to get a bit annoyed. All he wanted was to just get back home and laze around at home.
"Uhm... Could we just talk a bit first? I have a bit of a problem after all."
"Arghhhhh, all right fine. Let's just get this over with, so what's up?" He turned back around, arms folded, ready to hear what she has to say.
"So... I have some issues with my emotions lately... I think... I have... uhm... feelings for someone." She looked down shortly after she said that, unsure of how the man she had romantic feelings for would react.
"Pfft."
"Pfft?"
Confused by the sound she heard, Tatsumaki looked up to see Saitama covering his mouth with his hand as he tried desperately to hold in his laughter, only to fail as he cracked-up, unable to contain it any further.
"Hahahahaha! Oh my goodness! You? I can't believe it! Oh man!" The bald hero was clutching his stomach in too much glee.
"Hey! I really mean it okay?! I'm going to get mad if you keep it up!"
Without any delay, Saitama ceased his laughter and stood at attention, the memory of Tatsumaki nearly wrecking his home was a very good assist in keeping it down.
"All right, I'm sorry for my outburst earlier, ahem. Well so what's wrong with having feelings for someone? It's pretty normal right?" Being serious now, he gave a proper response to her situation.
"But... what if he... isn't it weird for me to even like a guy? How would even the public or even the Hero Association take it? What if they tried to even take it out on the guy that I like?" Tatsumaki was worried, worried that if she were to even get into a relationship, it could sour the opinions of the public towards her, the position she has worked and obtained for could be ruined. Worst, she could drag him into another mess with the choice she was making, how could she want that?
"Isn't that quite simple? Just go for it. I mean, it's fine, who cares right?" With a quick and casual response, Saitama answered her question. And just like that, a fast answer that bewildered Tatsumaki again.
"HUUUH?! Are you even taking this seriously? How could you even just say that?! Unlike you, I have my reputation and social standing to uphold!" This was just becoming like him and the citizens again, where he just voices out his own opinions without holding back.
"Hang on, I didn't mean it like that. But I guess one of the most popular heroes has their own problems huh..." Saitama raise his hand as a gesture to reassure the esper.
"I mean, who cares what other people think? They can think whatever they want for all I know. However, shouldn't your feelings be the most important the most to yourself?"
"!"
These words that he just said resonated within Tatsumaki deeply. She has only ever actually cared for her sister and no one else, not even herself. Everything she did, she did with the intention of protecting her sister and only her sister alone. Heck, she couldn't even think of a time that she has ever placed her trust in anyone at all.
But for herself? Other than the daily necessities she needs to sustain, which most of those are provided by the Hero Association, she has never ever gotten anything for herself.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I used to think that way. Or more like I was trying to just fit into society. I got reprimanded by teachers, bullied by mean seniors and got body-slammed into a wall by a piggy-bank monster. The point is, I wanted to just get along in this world, but it was hard and scary and it still is now."
"But aren't you strong enough to handle all on your own?" The esper asked.
"Sure I am. But truthfully, it really doesn't matter, just go ahead and do whatever you want." He stared blankly at the sky as he finished replying to her question.
"I..." Even though he did answer her question, she was still feeling a bit doubtful. A nagging thought still lingers in her head.
"You know..." Saitama added on. "Whoever this person is. I bet that if he's willing to be with you, then he's willing to work hard together with you and solve any problems that you two might encounter in the future." He finished, looking back down to her face as he displays a nice grin on his.
And with those words, that lingering thought that stayed with her vanished and Tatsumaki, the Tornado of Terror, finally knew the what she actually wanted to do.
"I...I know what to do now. Thanks for your help."
"No problems. I hope you get the guy!" Saitama said, turning back around.
"Now let's head back home befor...!" As he was about to set off, he halted in his tracks as a pair of small arms wrapped in black sleeves came out from behind him and with a gentle squeeze, a small yet soft body pressed on his back as Saitama gets hugged from behind.
"...uhm, Tatsumaki?"
"Huuuuu." Slowly taking in a deep breath, the esper lightly rested her head on his back.
"I like you." Her soft voice barely audible from behind Caped Baldy.
"I'm sorry, but what did you just say?" Feeling confused was barely scraping of the iceberg with the kaleidoscope of feelings that Saitama has right now.
"Are you that dense, dummy? You're the one I have feelings for... I like you, Saitama." She tapped his head with her knuckle, trying to knock some sense back into the dumbfounded hero.
"But...why me? I am very sure that there are many people out there who have better looks or at least have a sustainable amount of money?" Saitama could barely understand what was going on, mainly why would a girl like Tatsumaki, popular hero, powerful esper and wealth beyond compare to him would even be willing to go out with a guy like him!
"Well, what you said was not wrong." She agreed.
"See? Wait. Ouch." Saitama's self-esteem has taken damage.
"However, I didn't want you because of those things. It's, it's because I feel comfortable around you. You don't deceive people and you always stick to your beliefs. You have the power but you never really use it for selfish reasons. I've treated you badly, challenged you to a fight when I was mad between the differences in our strengths. You won, and I showed you my weakest side, one that could have been easily exploited. But despite all that you not only forgave me, you comforted me till I was better again." Tatsumaki let go off her hug and flew in front of Saitama.
She slowly glided through the air around Saitama whilst keeping her back facing towards him, preventing him from seeing her face.
"With that, the time with that purple alien and the meteor. You've saved me 3 times already. You've managed to change my life all by yourself, and I wanted to thank you for all that."
"Thank you for saving my life."
"Thank you for comforting me when I was down."
"Thank you for being nice to me."
Spinning around to face him, Tatsumaki gave a bright smile on her face. She had no other words else to express the complexity of her feelings, except just 3 simple words.
"I like you!"
As soon as she said her piece, Tatsumaki immediately turned back around, her face brightening up red with shame. How will he respond, how will he react? Did what she said came out right? She wanted to know, but at the same time she didn't want to know too.
She was so distracted by her thoughts that it was too late when she realizes that her shoulders were grabbed by two hands in red gloves. Tatsumaki wanted to give out a cry, but before she could even leak out a sound, she was spun around and was face to face with Saitama.
"No! Don't look!" Tatsumaki blurted as she tried to hide by covering her face again, but didn't expect it when Saitama's immediate response was to pull her in and hug her. The esper was surprised, but she smiled and proceeded to hug him in return.
A few short moments passed as they continued to embrace each other in the middle of the deserted street, and to Tatsumaki, it was an extraordinary moment that she did not wish to end for just a little while longer. A few minutes later, they both let go of each other, and still she wished for it to lasts, but time still flows and each still has their own lives to continue.
"Sooooo, well look, thank you for what you said to me. It was flattering honestly, I just did what I felt that's all. So, I may not know much about how this is going to go, but there's no reason for me to say no. Let's give it this a try, shall we?" Saitama said as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand while giving off a sheepish grin.
"We'll settle it when the time comes, though I guess I better get going back now, it's getting late. See you later Baldy." Tatsumaki said, as she prepared herself to fly back to her home.
"Hey! I thought we were over the name-calling?" Caped Baldy complained.
"It's just a nickname, don't take it too seriously!" She cried back.
"Well in that case, I'll call you Tats then! Your name's a bit wordy to say every time."
"TATS?! Urgh... Fine. Go on ahead!" And with that she flew off, and Saitama watched as the beautiful streak of green light dimmed and vanished as it got further and further away.
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"Ah, I've totally forgotten about his hoodie."
~Author's Notes
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
And that finally resolves what I wanted! I'm going to be honest, I've always shipped them together, but trying to imagine how I wanted them to interact throughout this confession was brain-tormenting, for I wanted passion in it rather than some quick resolution.
Sorry it took so long for all you that were waiting, I got sidetracked with lots of games, I can't deny the gamer instinct, and also the fact that I still have a year of National Service left. :p But it's all peachy now. Next arc will be coming soon, though I might be delayed as I'll have to start prepping for some military exercise at October!
However now with the relationship established, I can now put in some mighty fine side-plots. When it comes out though will be fixed, but I will not say anything else about it for now.
Once again thank you all for reading what I've worked on, and if you feel like saying anything about it please do comment! See you all next time!
- KickAxx
