Hey ya'll. I don't know if you're all gonna be able to see this but I hope so. I've been getting comments on the latest chapter so I hope so. I appreciate the user who messaged me and told me what was going on. I went to the forum like you said and it seemed like a lot of people were having the same problem, and most just let resolve the issue. So thank you.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Punch Man. I'm don't speak Japanese and it's a manga.
Chapter Twelve: The Sisters
Fubuki guided Tatsumaki back to her headquarters. She didn't need direction, but she suspected Fubuki was only here to make sure she didn't try and murder that fuckface again.
Once they reached the large complex, Fubuki excused herself, claiming that she had 'business' to take care of. Tatsumaki told her that her crew should learn how to take care of themselves. Fubuki rebuked by saying a leader's job was to look over her subordinates. Tatsumaki called all of them weak and Fubuki stormed off.
Another typical day in the life of the famed psychic sisters.
Tatsumaki showered quickly, washing away the dust and rubble Tatsumaki had gathered during her fight with the bald bastard. Tatsumaki grabbed the washcloth and wet it. She washed her face, clearing off any trace of her blood and tears. But her hands remained red. Tatsumaki stared at herself in the mirror, steeling herself.
She had been weak. These last few weeks, trapped behind walls of different sorts had shown her that. That's what it was. Weakness. No longer. Even if the world fell down on her, she would not show fear. She couldn't. Not to anyone. Not even to herself.
Tatsumaki floated out of the bathroom, searching for Fubuki. When she found her, Tatsumaki approached her, crossing her arms.
"You sent that octopus faced seaweed brain to wake me up," Tatsumaki accused.
"I did. Did he at least tell you it's time for dinner before you smashed him into the next city?" Fubuki asked.
"Yeah. He did. He poked me in the shoulder," Tatsumaki told her. The audacity.
Fubuki shrugged it off like it was no big deal. "Would you care to join us for dinner?"
Tatsumaki stared at her sister. The little bitch. "Hmph. Fine. I will grant you the pleasure of my presence. But then I must leave."
"Leave? Why?" Fubuki asked, surprised.
"I have my reasons," Tatsumaki said, rage rising as her mind conjured images of the scientists.
"Tatsumaki," Fubuki said. "I can feel your distress. Don't tell me you're going after Metal Knight."
"I'll get to him later. I have something else to take care of first," Tatsumaki answered.
"Is it Saitama? I thought you had your fill of him," Fubuki questioned her.
"That dumbass? Why should I care about him?" Tatsumaki snorted, completely ignoring the bout she had with him an hour ago.
"Because he's stronger than you," Fubuki stated.
"That stupid A-Class loser is not stronger than me!" Tatsumaki shouted.
"Then why did you stop fighting?" Fubuki pressed. "It wasn't because I showed up. It wasn't for the caramel apples. It wasn't because you were afraid of destroying something else. So tell me, what caused you to stop?"
"I was tired," Tatsumaki said weakly.
"No you weren't. I know your limits, Tatsumaki, and weren't tired," Fubuki said.
Knew her limits? Fubuki went up against Demons believing she could beat them, but then needed Tatsumaki to rescue her. What did she know of limits?
"I would have stayed if he hadn't woken me up so suddenly," Tatsuamki said with a pointed glare at her sister.
"Having him not only survive but overcome all of your strongest attacks certainly proved that," Fubuki said sarcastically.
"Those were not my strongest attacks. And I don't have to prove anything. I was the Rank 2 hero, only beneath Blast. That stupid A Class loser is not stronger than me," Tatsumaki affirmed.
"I think you left because you were afraid you weren't stronger than him," Fubuki said.
"That stupid A Class loser is not stronger than me," Tatsumaki repeated, a mantra.
"He beat Garou," someone else chimed in. Tatsumaki and Fubuki both turned to see Amai Mask, hooded, standing in the doorway.
"I could have beaten Garou if Psychos hadn't blindsided me," Tatsumaki assured him. "Anyway who invited you into this conversation? Don't you have a legion of teenagers to impress? Oh wait."
Fubuki bristled and seemed like she was about to retort but Amai Mask cut her off. "Perhaps if you kept that attitude of yours to yourself you would still be a hero."
"Says you! Maybe if you had let someone else handle that clown, you wouldn't be in this situation!" Tatsumaki yelled.
"Maybe if you weren't so selfish you could see what you've cost us!" Amai Mask shouted back.
"Selfish? You're calling me selfish? Says the guy with the biggest fattest paycheck in the Hero Association! Not that he needs it, oh no. It's not like any of his four other careers were enough for him. You hoard your money and spend it on frivolous things and making yourself look pretty! You don't care about anything except making yourself look good, you narcissistic bastard!"
"At least I care about preserving something! You don't care about anything at all! You just go and kill whatever you please and leave everything else to the real heroes! Do you know how many times I've had to clean up your messes? You give people nothing except someone to fear! I at least give them something to look up to!"
"People shouldn't need someone to look up to! People should be able to do everything on their own! Why should people look up to you? Tell me, Amai Mask, has any of your concerts prevented anyone from getting stomped on by a monster? Have they stopped anyone from getting stabbed in a dark alley? Have they prevented anyone from being taken from their homes and used for ungodly experiments? Tell me Amai Mask, what good does your 'hope' do for people?"
There was utter silence in the room. No one spoke. No one breathed. Amai Mask and Tatsumaki stared at each other, ignoring the spectators their argument had gathered.
"I thought not. The only thing that will save you is strength. If you're not strong enough, you will die. Or worse."
Amai Mask looked at her. Tatsumaki couldn't read the expression on his face. They stared at each other. Tatsumaki just noticed how close they were. Tatsumaki had been bearing down on him while she yelled at him. Her face was inches away from his, glaring down at him.
"Why do you fight then, Tatsumaki?" Amai Mask wondered.
Tatsumaki straightened up. Tatsumaki crossed her arms and flipped her hair back. "It's stress relief."
"That's why you lose then," Amai Mask said. "You have nothing to hold on to. That's why you would never beat Garou. He had a drive. He had a reason to keep going. When you are pushed, you have nothing to motivate you to push back. You have nothing to keep you going. I serve as a reminder for people that there is something to hold on to. So when they are pushed, they can push back. In the end, it doesn't matter how strong you are. If you have nothing to fight for, why fight at all?"
It was Tatsumaki's turn to be speechless. How dare he question her? How dare he doubt her? She had won more battles than Amai Mask had ever even known about. She would not lose.
Fubuki cleared her throat, forcing both hers and Amai Mask's attention on her. "The uh, dinner is ready, if you guys want to eat with us."
Amai Mask and Tatsumaki glared at each other.
"Fine," Tatsumaki said. She swirled around in the air and flew to her sister.
The next morning Tatsumaki gathered all her few possessions. She had the few dresses Bang had brought for her. Fubuki had given her a new cell phone. Tatsumaki put these in a plastic bag and tied the top. Tatsumaki would need to find other clothes, but for now these would serve. Metal Knight might still be searching for her.
Bang had left this morning for his dojo. The baldy and his bionic maid had returned to the Hero Association last night after dinner. The rest of Fubuki's sidekicks were blundering around somewhere, hunting down wolf level threats.
Someone knocked on the frame of her door. Tatsumaki turned her head. "Oh. It's you."
"Hello Tatsumaki," Amai Mask greeted.
"What do you want?" Tatsumaki asked.
"I heard you were leaving," he said.
"And you came to gloat?" Tatsumaki sneered at him.
"No. I came to apologize. I've treated you unfairly and I want to remedy that," Amai Mask told her.
"Congratulations. You've said you're sorry. Your conscience feel better yet? Good, so you can leave me be," Tatsumaki said, pulling the edges of the plastic bag together.
"Where will you go?" Amai Mask asked.
"Wherever the hell I want," Tatsumaki said.
Amai Mask sighed. "Fine. Don't tell me."
Tatsumaki snorted. "It's not like you cared anyway."
Tatsumaki could feel Amai Mask's gaze. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means exactly what you think it means," Tatsumaki snarked.
"What's your problem Tatsumaki? Why do you hate me?" Amai Mask asked her.
"Really? Do you really need to ask that question?" Tatsumaki exclaimed.
"Please Tatsumaki, let me make it right," Amai Mask begged.
Tatsumaki whirled around. "You left me. You can't make it right."
They stood, face to face for a moment.
"I'm sorry Tatsumaki," Amai Mask finally said. "I shouldn't have left you."
"You're pathetic," Tatsumaki sneered.
"That I don't need violence to try and solve every conflict?" Amai Mask asked.
"That you rely on other people's opinion of yourself to value your own self worth," Tatsumaki retorted.
Amai Mask recoiled. "I don't do that."
"Really? Then why the make-up? Why the masks? Why the fancy outfits? The hero business, singing, acting, you all try to show a version of you that's better than you really are. Maybe you did do it all for them. Maybe you did try to help people. But when the people started to need you, you started to need them back. You needed their attention, their favor. Or else, what are you?" Tatsumaki questioned.
Amai Mask was silent. Tatsumaki picked up the bag with her mind. She floated past Amai Mask. He did not turn or speak.
Tatsumaki floated out the front door of the building. She started to float up into the sky when she heard someone call out for her.
"Tatsumaki!" Fubuki yelled.
Tatsumaki stopped and turned to face her sister. Fubuki stood beyond the doorway Tatsumaki just left.
Tatsumaki floated down to speak to her sister. "What is it Fubuki?"
"Let me come with you," Fubuki begged.
"What?"
"Let me help you. I can help you do whatever you're going to do. Please Tatsumaki, let me come with you," Fubuki pleaded.
Tatsumaki was silent. She didn't want Fubuki mixed up in her past. It was messy enough.
"Do you remember what I told you?" Fubuki continued. "The first day I met you? I said to you, 'no matter what, you will always be my sister'. I want to make good on that. We're sisters, and I haven't been kind to you, and I want to help you. Please Tatsumaki."
Tatsumaki looked up at her sister. Fubuki stared down at her, begging Tatsumaki to welcome her. To let her in. Tatsumaki wasn't sure if she knew how.
"Do you remember how I responded to that?" Tatsumaki asked. "I said, 'you already are'. Fubuki, you are my sister. You always will be."
Fubuki looked at her with wide, hopeful eyes.
"But I cannot let you come with me," Tatsumaki finished.
Fubuki's expression fell. "But, Tatsu-"
"No. I have lost enough to these people and I will not lose you too. These are terrible, dangerous people," Tatsumaki said.
"Who are they? What have they done?" Fubuki begged her.
"I can't tell you. Maybe one day. But not now. But believe me, they deserve everything coming to them," Tatsumaki growled.
"This is my no matter what," Fubuki said. "I'm coming with you."
"You can't. I will pin you to the ground if I have to," Tatsumaki warned.
"Mom always said I should do what I believed in," Fubuki said. "I have to follow you."
A series of unpleasant memories surfaced for Tatsumaki. "Hmph. Mom wasn't right about everything you know."
"You two got into a lot of fights," Fubuki realized. "What was it with her?"
Hate seethed within Tatsumaki. "Everything."
Fubuki waited for an explanation. Tatsumaki shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."
Fubuki folded her hands and looked her in the eye. "Please Tatsumaki. For me."
Tatsumaki sighed. "Fine.
"You don't remember this Fubuki, but we met a long time before you remember. When I was young, there was me, mom and dad. We weren't a stable family. Dad was an alcoholic, mom was angry all the time, and me and my psychokinesis just made everything worse. One day, when I was three, dad never came home. He left me and mom and went who knows where. It was just me and mom then. She was always afraid of me. Things would float, and I couldn't control them, and mom would get mad at me. She'd throw things at me, and tell me to let them go. That made it worse, and the things would usually end up broken. Finally, mom had enough of it. She called some place, and sent me off there. I was six, and you weren't even a year old yet. The last memory I had of her for a long time was her, holding you in her arms, yelling at me while I was being dragged away. 'You brought this upon yourself Tatsumaki!' She said. 'You're nothing but a monster!'"
Tatsumaki stopped to collect herself. Her breath had gone ragged. Rage burned within her.
"When I came home, four years later, mom was less than pleased to see me. She didn't show it around you, but whenever she got the chance, she would belittle me, telling me how much better you were than me. How little problems she had with you. How much better off her family was without me. She had remarried by then, and she said that Paul only wanted to marry her as long as I wasn't there. She would chastise me about my failures and compare it to your successes. 'Look at how popular Fubuki is,' she would say. 'Why can't you be more like her?' I hated her. I tried to stay away from home as much as possible. You were the only reason I came home at all."
Fubuki was crying softly. "I'm so sorry Tatsumaki."
Tatsumaki shrugged, not wanting to dwell on her mother anymore. "I learned to deal with it."
Tatsumaki looked to the sky. "I should go. Hopefully I can find my prey before sunset."
Tatsumaki floated up. "Take care of yourself Fubuki. Don't let those losers hold you back."
Tatsumaki rocketed off into the sky.