A/N: Just here to remind y'all I have a deviantART, iHateFridays, where I occasionally post art for this story (as well as the comic), and a tumblr, onepunchsimulatorcomic, which is pretty self explanatory. Happy reading!
"I have a job that only you and one other can do, Mr. Saitama."
"That's unusual," Saitama said, giving the Association member a weird look. "The Association rarely relies on me. But sure, I'll do it. I'll beat up monsters for you." He frowned. "Hey, wait, who's this 'one other' you're talking about?"
The association member gestured to the front of the restaurant. A tan young man with polyester blonde hair, a gakuran with a red armband, and a blue neck-tie came in. A camera was around his neck.
"Mr. Saitama, this is the Class B rank 69 hero 'Fred'," the member introduced. "He's the leader of the hero group known as the 'Mystery Gang'. We believe his investigate skills will help you on your quest."
"Fred?" Saitama asked, staring at the young man. "That's kind of a weird hero name."
"Yeah, I know," Fred laughed. "It came from a TV show I used to watch when I was a kid. A lot of people say I look like one of the main characters from that show."
"Really?" Saitama asked. "That's pretty cool."
"Well, hey, your hero name is Caped Baldy, right?" Fred asked, making a face.
Saitama scowled. "Just call me Saitama."
"And you can call me Fureddo, if you want," Fred said, offering his hand to Saitama.
Saitama shook his hand. "Will do."
Fureddo turned to the Association member. "So, what's the quest you wanted us to go on?"
The Association worker pulled out a sheet of paper with an crudely-drawn image of a cat.
"Find this lost cat," he said.
"Aw man," Saitama sighed, looking around the streets. "This picture is no help. Cats are everywhere."
"You're mean!" a little girl shouted. "I drew the best I could! I'm gonna tell my Daddy! You're gonna get fired! Fired!"
"Even worse, we're babysitting.." Saitama muttered, turning to Fureddo.
Fureddo turned to the little girl, who was still fuming. She had black hair tied into a ponytail, and wore a frilly skirt.
He kneeled down, giving her a smile. "Don't worry, kid. We'll find your cat, okay?"
"Hmph!" the girl scoffed. "Without me, you'd never recognise Torako!"
"And that's why you're very important," Fureddo said, gently patting her shoulder. "Now, where was the last place you saw her?"
The girl scowled. "I don't remember... I think it was around here somewhere!"
"Do you know specifically?" Fureddo asked.
"I just said I don't remember, you idiot!" the girl yelled.
Fureddo stood up, looking around. He walked over to a cat which was sitting on a box. It jumped off as he approached.
"This box is obviously a hot-spot for cats," he concluded. "Which means it's likely Torako was here. Considering most feral cats hang around alleyways, she probably wandered off into the streets. And that means…" he pointed to an alleyway, "we need to go this way!"
"Torako isn't feral!" the girl shouted. "You're mean!"
"Quit repeating yourself, kid," Saitama told her. "He's putting a lot of effort into finding your cat, y'know. You should be thanking him."
Fureddo smiled at Saitama gratefully, before facing Torako.
"This way!" he declared, the two following him.
"Yeah, I don't think this is going that well."
Fureddo, and Torako's owner, who was riding on Saitama's shoulders, were walking down the alleyway. It was empty, for the most part.
"Is that your cat?" Fureddo asked, spotting a cat with a collar.
"No!" the girl shrieked.
"Seriously?" Saitama asked. "We're never gonna find that damn thing."
"Hey, we're heroes," Fureddo said. "Nothing we can't do, right?" He dug into his uniform pocket, pulling out a bag of chips. "Want some?"
"Sure," Saitama said, taking a handful. "Thanks, man."
"No worries," Fureddo replied.
"Are you two serious?" the girl complained. "Stop slacking off and find my cat!"
"Don't worry, kiddo," Fureddo told her, calmly. "We've got it under control. I'm pretty sure your cat went this way. She would've had to."
Saitama realised he actually didn't mind hanging out with Fureddo. He was one of the most laid-back heroes he'd met. He wasn't concerned about his rank, and he didn't come off as selfish or arrogant. He was like... a friend.
"So, you're the leader of a group, right?" Saitama said. "What's the deal with that?"
"Well, we're more of a mystery-solving faction than your average hero faction," Fureddo explained. "None of us have powers or anything, so… we instead solve crimes and investigate stuff. And, uh, lounge around and eat snacks. Sometimes." He grinned, sheepishly.
"Kinda sounds like fun, actually," Saitama commented.
"Yeah?" Fureddo shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not that proud of my group. We're about to graduate high-school, but I don't want us to be known as 'the B Class group that slacked off and occasionally solved mysteries'. I want to do something that'll really get our name out there, y'know? Honestly, I don't care about increasing our ranks or whatever, I just want to do something significant that makes people take us seriously. That we're heroes too."
Saitama looked like he'd tuned out. Torako's owner was silent too.
"Sorry, man," Fureddo scratched his head. "I was probably talking too much."
"Nah, it's cool," Saitama waved a hand. "You're tolerable, kid. Keep doing what you're doing. You've got the drive to become a great hero."
"You really think so…?" Fureddo asked, putting a hand over his heart.
Saitama nodded. "Sure do."
"Hey, guys?"
"Yes, Tiger?/ Yeah, lil' bro?"
"Whaddya think is going on in there?" Tank Top Tiger asked, pointing to the sealed-off area.
"It's most likely that we don't have to worry about it, dear," Tank Top Sister replied, smiling gently. "Let's just focus on the mission at hand."
"She's right, lil' bro," Tank Top Black Hole agreed. "It's a direct request from the Hero Association. We'll get part time wages."
"But we aren't part-timers!" Tank Top Tiger whined. He gasped. "Gah- it's him!"
Saitama and co. walked over to the heroes, casual as always.
"What're you doing here?!" Tank Top Tiger demanded. "This area's off-limits!"
"Boys, please, calm down," Tank Top Sister said, waving her hands.
"But big sis," the brothers whined. "That's the guy we talked about! The bald one!"
"Oh, really?" the girl asked, raising a brow. She smiled when she saw Fureddo. "Oh, hello, Fureddo dearie!"
"Heya, Uekiya," Fureddo said, waving at her.
"Oh, it's that Mystery Gang guy," Tank Top Blackhole said. "Ain't you from Goddess' school or something?"
Fureddo, ignoring that comment, took a step forward.
"We're on a mission from the Hero Association," he explained. "A higher up sent us. So, uh, mind letting us through?"
The Tank Top brothers looked hesitant.
"Let them go," Uekiya said, smiling sweetly. "They're on a mission, like us!"
So the trio continued their search to find Torako the cat. Fureddo, unfortunately, had lost a bit of his spunk, judging by his walking pattern.
"You okay, bud?" Saitama asked him.
"Yeah, it's just…" Fureddo sighed. "Look, don't get me wrong, I respect Goddess and everything, it's just… sometimes it's hard being at the same school as her, y'know? You get overshadowed by her all the time. It's always 'oh, you're from the school Goddess goes to', or, 'do you know Goddess?' or something like that. Rather than being an amazing hero by yourself, people will recognise you by your affiliation with Goddess. And like I said, I respect Goddess and all of that, but… I wish it wasn't about her all the time." He smiled to himself. "Y'know, maybe that's why Metal Bat doesn't go to Akademi. If he did, he'd probably be overshadowed by her too."
Saitama's face was blank.
"Who's Goddess?" he asked.
Fureddo laughed. "Heh, good one. You're a funny guy, Saitama."
Saitama was about to respond, but then frowned instead.
"Hey, kid," he said, pointing at a cat running by. "Doesn't your cat have a-"
And then a wall smashed open. Genos crashed through, landing on his feet.
"Master Saitama!" Genos shouted. "Did you receive the same request?"
"Hold on, Demon Cyborg?" Fureddo asked. "What are you doing here?"
Genos glanced at him. "Fred, Class B rank 69. I could ask you the same question."
"Does your cat have a blue collar?" Saitama asked Torako's owner.
"Uh-huh," the little girl nodded.
"Thought so," Saitama said. "Don't know what you're fighting, Genos, but good luck. C'mon, Fureddo."
Fureddo gave Genos an odd look as he and Saitama continued their walk.
"I've got a bad feeling," Fureddo told Saitama, fiddling with his camera.
The ground shook beneath their feet. Torako's owner gasped, and suddenly jumped off Saitama's shoulders. In the distance, a cat with a blue collar was running off.
"Torako, come here!" the girl cried. "Why are you running?"
"Whoa, kid," Fureddo said, chasing after her. "Don't run off!"
Torako had a mouse in her mouth, and was carrying it towards some bushes. In the bushes, two kittens were meowing.
No way, Fureddo thought. Torako had kittens!
Suddenly, a huge monster that resembled a cat appeared out of nowhere. It appeared above Torako, stopping her in her tracks.
"Kid, stay back!" Fureddo shouted.
Luckily for the girl, Stinger appeared and saved her just in the nick of time. As for the cat, she hissed, backing away from the monster. Saitama came to her aid, picking her up and punching the monster. It exploded into guts.
Fureddo blinked. Did he just… kill that monster with one punch… He shook his head. No way, I'm seeing things…
"Torako!" the little girl exclaimed, hugging her cat. "You gave birth?! I didn't know!"
"Well, that happened," Fureddo coughed. "Take her kittens home with you, kid."
"I'm not cut out for this stuff," Saitama admitted. "You're a detective, Fureddo. This is more your speed."
Fureddo offered his hand to Saitama. "Well, hey. Pleasure working with you all the same."
Saitama shook his hand. "Same to you, kid."
Genos frowned. Master isn't cut out for finding cats… but he certainly will become a professional hero, eventually. I suppose… the same could be said about Fred.
A/N: Little fun fact for y'all, Metal Bat was originally going to be attending Akademi but I changed it around because... well, you'll see why. ;) Thanks for reading, and I hope you had a good Valentine's Day, whether or not you fell in love lol
