I have not made an author's note in quite some time, but I have to for this note.
Webcomic spoilers here: Yes, I do know that Suiryu does not go for the Hero Association, and instead joins the Neo Heroes. Please know that I'm going to keep this part consistent.
When Saitama and Tornado thought that moving in wasn't going to be anything difficult?
Yeah, that couldn't be further from the truth.
First off, the two of them didn't realize how damn annoying it was for them to go through the motions of whatever hurdles the Hero Association set in front of them. Not only was it tough for a professional hero to move because of the archives they'd have to update, the numbers they could call, and especially important to the Board, the public image that it'd leave, but Tornado wasn't a normal professional hero.
She was the goddamn second highest-ranked hero in the entire world. One of the most powerful people to ever exist, one of the most popular heroes to grace Planet Earth, and even more?
She was dating another hero.
Specifically, the hero that was one of, if not the most, controversial heroes that found their way into the Association.
Now? They were going through a bunch of unnecessary hoops. Of course, Tornado just said yes to all of the questions they'd asked, because Fubuki had done the same thing a ton of times. The number thing, work phone, hero stuff, everything like that.
But of course, Fubuki hadn't had to go through a sort of hero relationship talk when it came to moving. Of course, her and Genos had to go through something where they had to talk with the Board (Something Tornado had avoided through sheer intimidation), but nothing where one of them moved.
"Tornado. Caped Baldy." The voice that addressed them belonged to none other than Sitch. "You are aware to where Tornado is moving, correct?"
"Yep. Why wouldn't we be?" Saitama drawled, his head resting on his right hand, his right arm leaning on the armrest. He seemed incredibly...aloof from the entire situation, and frankly, Tornado was feeling the same way. This part, she couldn't really escape, because it was the only member of the Board she respected, and it was also regarding the Monster Association.
Sitch sighed, continuing to explain, "Of course, you probably know about the Monster Association. I believe you encountered one of their executives during the Super Fight tournament?"
Tatsumaki nodded, "Yep. And I'm moving right next to where their headquarters is."
Sitch put his hands down on the table in front of them, shaking the coffee mug that he'd set down, "Then you're well aware of the risks that this puts the two of you at. Three S-Class heroes living directly next to their headquarters? There's simply no way they won't try to take all three of you down, especially when you took down one of their stronger members."
Saitama yawned, stretching a little bit, "Nah, they won't do something like that. Besides, even if they do come after us, their leader's all the way down there. I doubt that most of them could take Genos, and even if they beat him, Tats and I are still there."
Sitch scowled, his fists clenching, "You don't understand the situation!"
Tatsumaki rolled her eyes, "Jesus, Sitch, seriously. If we wanted to, Saitama and I could probably take most of the entire Association on our own, for Christ's sake."
"But that'd be putting the investor's son at risk!"
Tornado crossed her arms, scoffing, "So what? It's not like we even need that 7% in the first place. It's not our fault that most of the heroes in the lower classes can't even do anything."
In an instant, Sitch blasted, trying to desperately explain the importance of the mission at hand, the organization that they'd been going through, everything that they were willing to give to the situation.
Saitama interrupted by the time he'd gotten to Act 2, Scene 4 of this play that he'd contrived in an instant, "Well, if all the heroes are gonna go anyways, then there's no problem in Tats and I moving in together. In fact, that just makes it easier for us to make sure none of them get further out into the public, right?"
Sitch didn't know how to deny that.
He regretted even trying to convince some of the most stubborn heroes he'd known to change their mind.
"Sensei?" Genos' voice came through the phone as Tats and I had stopped by this ramen shop in City B.
"Yup?"
"There's this injured man waiting outside for you. He says that he wants to speak to you."
Tats interrupts, "We'll be there in a few. Saitama and I are eating right now."
A few moments of rustling are heard, a little bit of squawking mixed in, and most importantly, a door being closed.
I hear another voice, "Yo, Saitama!" Wait, a minute, what? He's still moving around? Jeez, I guess he is pretty strong, after all.
"Suiryu?" I ask, a little shocked. I hadn't expected him to pull a Genos and straight-up drop by my home or something.
Does this mean I really have to take him in as my disciple?
I glance at Tats with a raised eyebrow, who only shrugs in response. I guess she doesn't know what's going on, either.
"The one and only!" He greets. "Man, I didn't know that you already had a disciple! I feel like I'm intruding a bit!"
Genos interrupts again, "Are you unaware of the hero world?"
I blink, and so does Tats. I guess his humor update hasn't really kicked in, or something like that.
"Nah, didn't really keep up with it until recently," Suiryu explains over the phone. "Then Saitama and Tornado saved me and whatever and now I'm thinkin' of becoming a hero once I rest up. That's why I came here, actually."
At that moment, I think Tats and I make the same decision. We quickly finish the rest of our food and just leave the restaurant.
"Oy, Genos, Suiryu," Tats holds out her hand, and I hand her my phone. "We're coming over soon. We'll talk then, okay?"
She takes the silence as approval, I guess, and tosses my phone back to me.
"Man, do we have another Genos on our hand?" She asks, a little bit tired of it. "I thought one was enough. Plus, he isn't as literal as Genos. He'll figure out that you don't have much to teach him after all."
"Yeah, I know, but maybe he'll be able to learn something from Genos. I heard he's learning some new fighting techniques to infuse into his fighting style."
She whistles, "Maybe he could learn from Bang or something."
I shake my head, "Nah, he's looking into Tai Tzu or whatever it's called. Something about powerful strikes."
"Fits Genos."
I look down at her, "Hey, Tats?"
"Hm?"
I smile. I think about what I'm about to do.
I'll save it for later.
"You're cute."
She blushes a little bit, "Shut it. I don't know how to toss out compliments like you, Baldy."
I shrug, "I dunno. Just say what's on your mind?"
She laughs a little bit, "Jeez, now you sound like a creep, implying that I'm on your mind or some shit like that."
I don't know what to say to that, honestly. It didn't even register to me that I was thinking about it. I just sort of said it, you know?
"I mean, you are. What else is there to say?"
Man, I sure screwed that up.
Especially the way she takes a deep breath.
Wait, maybe I didn't screw it up that badly.
"You know...I like you a lot, Saitama..." she starts. Is this how she flirts?
It's nice.
"You're...really understanding and just really supportive...and I like that about you..." she admits, turning her gaze away from me.
Ah, screw it.
I bend down a little bit and plant a very short, but very soft, kiss on her cheek, barely missing her lips.
I gulp, realizing what I just did.
Needless to say, the rest of the travel home was filled with silence between the two of us, neither of us really willing to bring it up in conversation again. I'd only done that to her forehead and the top of her head before, and that was only a few times.
God, I was going to regret that, wasn't I?
I glance at the man that had come in a few minutes beforehand. He seems...intriguing, at the best. He seems to be powerful, considering his muscles and considering how Saitama-Sensei seems to be familiar with him. He mainly associates with the strong, so he must follow a similar trend.
As I hand him a cup of tea, I begin the conversation, "How do you know Saitama-Sensei?"
He smirks, "Met him at the Super Fight tournament. Long story short, I won the tournament, but that was because he wore a wig. Stupid rule, right? Especially considering how he won the fight."
I nod. He's humble; not many people would admit to losing a fight so simply, though he did it so casually.
"And you come here because...?" I prompt, sitting down next to him, drinking a little bit of tea myself.
"So, course, he and Tornado are together. Get this," he gestures absentmindedly, setting down his cup. "You heard about the Monster Association?"
I nod again. They were the ones who launched the massive attack on multiple cities. From what I know, City Q was the one that took the least damage, as Watchdog Man took care of all the monsters that were there.
"I met one of them...an executive. He turned a few of the martial artists there into monsters," Suiryu explained.
"Monsterization cells," I recall. Doctor Kuseno had told me about the news that he'd received while repairing me.
"Right on the money. Anyways, after I took down some of the monsters, there was this one that I tried to fight, but...there was nothing that I could do about it," he sighs, his eyes a little downcast at the memory. "Gouketsu."
I tense a little bit, remembering what happened with me, "The unusually strong martial artist. Winner of the first Super Fight tournament, correct?"
He nods, "Right again. He...he toyed with me like I was a toddler...and the other monsters? They didn't even stand a chance against them. I...I was on the brink of death, man. You ever just...hit that brink and realize something?"
I nod. It'd happened when I first came across the raging cyborg when he destroyed my village.
"I...I realized then that, hey, when the heroes did give themselves to help me...they're really not all that bad. That maybe having fun isn't the only thing that people value," he mutters, staring into his cup. "That's when Saitama and Tornado helped.
"So, one of the other monsters...he was Bakuzan."
"Another fighter in the Super Fight tournament. Past winner, if I remember."
He rolls his eyes, scoffing, "Wasn't too strong...until he became a monster, that is. He's...not even human. Immoral. Whatever you wanted to call him. Beat people while they were down, probably the bully of a class or some crap like that..."
"But that's when Saitama came. Took care of Bakuzan before I blinked...and before I even knew it, he and Tornado took Gouketsu down like he was nothing more than a ragdoll..."
This situation seemed far too familiar for comfort. It was as if I was watching a literal human version of me right before my eyes. Not the backstory or motive to live the easy life, but the process in which we met Saitama-Sensei.
"And I assume you wanted to be his disciple, correct?" I infer, seeing his hopeful gaze.
He shrugs, "I just wanted to know what he did to become so strong. That sort of strength is unfair, but...I thought I could become a hero too, you know? I don't think I'd give it to the point where I could die like some of the other heroes...but who knows, maybe I could be the guy who saves someone for once."
I observe, looking at his general demeanor, "I understand what you mean. His strength is something I cannot hope to approach, yet I simply believe I fight to help people."
I decide not to inform him as to where I came from, and I doubt it would ever be necessary. Yet, if this man were to become a student alongside Saitama-Sensei, perhaps it would not hurt to be able to get to know him.
I hope he does not come to regret his decision.
The very moment she sees Suiryu in Saitama's apartment, she deadpans. She didn't actually expect him to stay there and wait for them. And especially considering what Saitama had done not even fifteen minutes before (which went on without either of them even saying a word to each other), she was getting pretty fed up with everything.
"Well, you're actually here. What did you wanna talk about?"
Suiryu waves lightly, his trademark smile still present, "Came here to learn how to get stronger. Or at least, how to become like, a professional hero." He shrugs at the last part, seeming a little apathetic about it.
Saitama raises an eyebrow, "Didn't you like...hate heroes before?"
"Yeah, but that was before I got my ass kicked," Suiryu rolls his eyes lightheartedly. "Weirdly enough, it was Sneck and Lightning Max who helped me realize that I'm not like an anime protagonist or whatever, right?"
Tornado scoffs, "Those losers? Didn't you crush them in the tournament?"
Suiryu nods, "Yep. But I learned...respect, I guess. I just trained so I could live easy, but even now, in our current world, that's getting tough, you know?"
Saitama hums, agreeing, "Yeah, I get what you mean. There's a ton of monsters near here, actually. Genos has to burn them every now and then since their corpses sort of pile up."
"So...would this be a good place to start fighting monsters or something?" Suiryu leads on. "I know I'm not fully recovered yet, but when I am, I think this'd be a good place to help people."
"Nope," Tornado sighs, checking her nails as she sits down on the nearby couch. "There's gotta be someone to actually witness you kill the monster, since that gives you more credit than just saying you did."
"So why do you live here?" Suiryu prompts. "It's not like you're getting a lot of credit for any of that, then, especially since Genos burns them to a crisp."
"Well, who says being a hero's about being reported for your deeds?" Saitama rebuts. "You just gotta help people, keep them safe, and make sure they're happy. Being known for it's not the main thing for us."
"Yeah, but you live here 'cause it's cheap," Tatsumaki brings up, a soft smirk on her face.
"That too."
Suiryu blinks, before chuckling a little bit, "Jeez...you guys have really gone far, haven't you?"
Genos continues, slightly curious, "And you say that because?"
"I dunno," Suiryu shrugs. "Based on what Saitama told me after he killed Bakuzan, he's got a bunch on his plate, and you three are all famous heroes. I mean, people say Saitama's a fraud, but to be honest, you're kind of a dumbass for making them hate you like that."
Tornado nods vigorously, gesturing at the baldy, "See?! I told you that you should've just let the heroes take the blame because they were weak other than Genos who sacrificed himself and, I dunno, make it so that you don't have a target on your back from anyone?!"
Saitama clicks his tongue, "Well, at least the heroes don't seem to be hated. If it's all on me, it's more like I'm an exception rather than the rule, right?"
Genos, adamant, puts a hand on his teacher's shoulder, "Sensei, I respect you for your decision...but it was an incredibly stupid one to be so selfless like that, in my opinion."
"So is this a 3v1 now?"
"Yep," Suiryu chuckles. "So, can I at least stay here if there are a bunch of monsters here? If anything, could I at least fight some monsters with Genos or something? He seems pretty chill."
"Sure, if you're fine with not being able to have a full conversation," Tatsumaki scoffs. "He prefers fighting in silence."
Genos nods, seeming not to have picked up on the subtle jab at his poor social skills, "I find it better for me to focus, but I would be glad to fight alongside you. Perhaps you could teach me some martial arts of sorts."
Suiryu nods, "I don't see why not. You should show me how to approach fighting monsters!"
Saitama sits down, sighing, "You know, I'm surprised you aren't like...deathly afraid of monsters at this point. Especially after getting your legs broken by one."
Suiryu shrugs again, "I mean, do you know someone who had their life literally broken in two just cause one of their legs were?"
Saitama shook his head. Then again, he never really paid attention to how others lived their lives.
Tornado pointedly coughed, sending a glance towards Saitama. He 'ahhed' at the memory of Tatsumaki learning about King, yet the other two in the room didn't bother to ask.
"So, you sure you won't regret this?" Saitama asks.
Suiryu nods. "Promise."
It'd been two weeks since I decided to move in next to Saitama, and by fucking god, I swear, if Suiryu doesn't stop barging into where I'm trying to plan to put stuff, I will toss him into the Monster Association headquarters myself.
"Hey, you need help?" I hear Fubuki ask from behind. I send a grateful look towards her, cause she's honestly been such a huge help with all of this.
"Yeah...do you know where I should put my coffee table? I'm planning to give away a bunch of my stuff to Suiryu since he's planning to just move somewhere instead of wandering around like some sort of martial artist hobo," I scoff.
"Hey, not like you're even going to use most of it," she laughs lightly. "Why not just put it in the middle like Saitama has for his table?" She walks into the empty apartment, which I've started to clean up a little bit.
When I first got here, it was probably one of, if not, the most dusty things I'd ever seen in my life. You could go to a dust storm if it was actually made out of dust and find about half of the stuff as you could in this damn apartment.
Luckily, I could just rip all the interior stuff out of here and just make more room for me. I'm thinking of ripping out one of the walls so that I can have the space that two of these apartments would have.
Yeah, that'd be a good decision, wouldn't it?
"Cause I'm probably gonna tear this place in half because there's not enough room," I explain, before my instincts kick in. "Fubuki, I swear, if you make a short people joke," I'm cut off by her snickering a little bit.
"Genos gave me the idea to, since he told me about breaking down a wall being an option," she shrugs, a humorous smile plastered on her face.
I roll my eyes, trying to hide the smile, "Guess I gotta tear the cyborg down."
"Hey! That cyborg's my boyfriend!" She retorts, finally walking into the empty apartment instead of just standing in the doorway.
She whistles, somewhat impressed. Glancing around at the walls, her nose wrinkles a little bit.
"What are you planning to do with it? Make it look all aesthetic and stuff like that?" She asks, opening a cabinet absent-mindedly, only to find another pile of dust. Guess I didn't wipe that one out.
I shoot a glance at her, "As if."
She leans on one of the walls, sliding down to the floor, "Man, how do you just up and move so...easily? Don't you have some sort of attachment to your home?"
I sniff, "Not at all. Only used it as a place to shower and sleep, nothing more. Maybe eat, but I could always eat out, you know?"
She raises an eyebrow, "Sounds like you're trying to make excuses, you know."
For what?
I voice my thoughts out, "What could I possibly be trying to make excuses for, Fubuki?"
She pointedly scoffs, "You know what I mean. Why move closer to Saitama of all places if you aren't super close with him? It looks like you're trying to hide the fact that you really do care about him."
I blush, "W-Well, of course I like him! Why else would I be dating him?!"
She clicks her tongue, "Did something happen between you two? You seem to be super awkward near him, especially these past two weeks."
I gulp, heart pumping a little bit.
She takes the silence as a sign to continue, "You've been thinking about something, haven't you? And you're taking all this time to move in when you could've taken a single day to because it helps take your mind off of it, right?"
I scoff, "Shut it, Fubuki. You don't need to know about what I want to do with my relationship."
She doesn't back off. Instead, she seems even more adamant about it.
"Tatsumaki...I don't need to know, you're right," she begins. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to help."
"And what is there to help me with?" I reply dryly, putting a hand on my hip as I tear my eyes away from the furniture in front of me, no matter how little it currently is.
She rolls her eyes, "You clearly wanna get back at him for something. One of you did something and now the other is trying to return the favor. That's just how relationships usually work."
"Okay, Ms. date three people in her life, I'm pretty sure."
"Hey, at least I've been in a relationship."
I can't really retaliate at that. She's right about that, at least.
"Just do whatever it is and regret it later," she advises. "Or if you feel really uncomfortable with it, then being unconfident really doesn't suit you." She shrugs.
"If anything, you're probably the most confident person I know, other than Metal Bat," she nods, remembering the aggressive hero, who frankly was a piece of shit. He is a good brother, though. I can say that much.
"So why is something with Saitama different?" She asks nonchalantly, and I open my mouth, only to close it.
As she walks off, she waves, "I'm going to hang out with Genos now. See you! Oh, and good luck." I wonder what Genos is doing. He's probably fighting off some monsters now, honestly. He doesn't really do too much other than hunt monsters, hang out with Fubuki, and find some parts or another way to make himself stronger.
Honestly, I don't know what's holding me back from just going forward with it. Is it something outside of my control? Probably not.
But...I just don't know, man. I haven't really done anything like that with anyone before...and from whatever stuff I heard or read in school, it's usually something that happens between two people normally.
But I'm not normal.
I've never been normal.
How does Fubuki do it? She talks to Genos as if he's just another person, and Genos treats everyone the same. Saitama keeps parroting stuff about how weak people aren't always just who their strength says they are.
Well, not really parroting it. He just keeps repeating what he believes, which I can't really blame. He doesn't do it in an insulting, superior way, and he doesn't just blast it 24/7.
I take a deep breath. She's right. Just going back into moving the furniture in and trying to actually make the place look really nice doesn't suit me. Hell, when I moved into my current home, I just tossed all the stuff in and moved it around until it looked like I had some good pathways to walk in. That's all that really mattered to me.
So...I just gotta face my problems head on, right? Doesn't seem too hard.
Honestly, I'll just head over to Saitama's place right now, get myself too far in to back out, and do whatever I've been hesitating on doing.
Whatever that thing is, anyways.
"Hey, Saitama," Tornado asked, walking into his apartment casually. She'd finally blasted through moving, practically tossing stuff in at an alarming rate. In the end, she did tear down the wall that split the apartment next to her, which made more room for her to toss stuff in relentlessly.
"What's up, Tats?" He greeted, waving casually at her. He was plopped down at his table, heating up some water. "What did you wanna talk about?"
She looked around his apartment for a little bit, noticing a bit of an obvious absence, "Where's Genos? Hanging out with Fubuki?"
"Mhm. Pretty sure he's gonna stay over there for the night. Said something about how Fubuki said it would be better for everyone, but I don't know what that means," he explains, chugging down some water.
Tatsumaki resisted the urge to facepalm. It was so obvious what she was trying to do, but he still fell for it, anyways. Especially with how much Fubuki planned in her own time, it was a wonder that he hadn't caught on by now.
"Well, anyways, I wanted to talk to you about something," Tatsumaki admitted. "So, I know I've been pretty distant recently." In reality, she didn't know how else to start the conversation. There wasn't much to go off of here, especially with a boyfriend like Saitama who stuck to some pretty lofty ideals that didn't involve complicated emotions.
"You have been?" Saitama asked, a little surprised. "Well, you don't really talk too much when we eat breakfast together...have you?" He scratched the back of his head, trying to remember some instances where she was being pretty distant.
Maybe that wasn't the best way to start a conversation.
The short woman sighed, "Look, Saitama...I know we've both been avoiding the conversation from when you kissed me on the cheek." She blushed a little at that, and to a far lesser extent, Saitama did as well. However, the latter's was practically nonexistent, so it was somewhat unfair to compare the two.
He gulped quietly, reminiscing, "Oh...that."
"And...that's sort of what I wanted to talk about," Tatsumaki admitted, walking over to him and sitting down on the futon.
"What about it is there to talk about it, really?" He asked, tilting his head backwards since she was on the futon. She didn't know why he didn't just turn around himself, but that was a conflict that was at the very back of her head at the moment.
"I-I...I don't know," she sheepishly admitted. "I just...I'm just not used to physical affection and hugging and all that, and I know you told me to take it casually and at a pace I'm comfortable with...but what happens if I just go too far and make you uncomfortable?"
Saitama clicked his tongue, "Well, if anything, I don't think I'd ever be uncomfortable. You make me comfortable just by sitting here, really."
Tatsumaki gulped, "So...could I try something real quick?"
Saitama nodded.
There was a moment of silence between the two. Tornado's heart beat quicker and quicker as she steeled herself with deep breaths that continued.
"Uh...Tats? Is something wrong?"
"Just...gah!" She gave up on trying to listen to reason, quickly planting a kiss on Saitama. Not his forehead or his cheek. Nothing like that.
Nope, she quickly planted a soft kiss right on his lips.
She knew that she just listened to her emotion rather than reason at that moment.
And frankly, she didn't care.
Because in the end, she had a little bit of hesitation in it. She knew she did.
But she sure as hell didn't regret the choice she made.
You know, when I heard about how first kisses were supposed to feel, I heard that they were supposed to be super crazy events. You know, fireworks, electric shocks, something about burning sensations. I think that's an STI but who knows, maybe I'm wrong.
Either way, I don't think that's what either of us felt when she kissed me.
Nah, that wasn't it.
I smiled.
No, it wasn't anything super unique or anything.
I just felt a little swell in my chest.
Maybe it doesn't have to be something super large like that fireworks or that burning passion or whatever it was.
Personally? I liked it. Her lips were soft, sweet, and even though she didn't do it for long, it felt nice. Like I...how do I put it...felt connected to someone?
Not just in a sort of dating way or whatever.
I felt like maybe I really do feel happy with her. Well, that's a poor way to put it.
I am happy with her. Definitely.
But I sort of feel...like I could genuinely spend the rest of my life with her. It's silly, really, gaining all of that from a single kiss.
But I know that she wouldn't do something so intimate or something so physically affectionate if she didn't really mean it.
"Hey, Tats?" I ask, quietly.
She blushes, looking away. She's probably just going a few miles per minute in her mind, thoughts jumping everywhere.
"Yeah?" She asks, and for the first time in a while, I think she sounds...timid. Shy, almost.
"Was that your first kiss?" I ask bluntly. There's no use in beating around the bush, especially with someone like her. It just doesn't work for the two of us. Either we talk about it all the way or be super ignorant or just flat-out brush the situation off. More often than not, it's the first one.
And I like it that way. It makes sense for a relationship, for people to talk so that they both know what's going on and what they think about stuff.
"Yeah," she nods, a little more quiet.
I smile lightly.
I gently lean up, softly kissing her again.
She turns red.
"Well, that was my second."
She smiles back at me bashfully.
Yeah, I'll probably plan to do a lot more of that eventually.
It felt nice.
I don't regret going back for a second one.
y
If you thought I shoved the title of the chapter in your face last chapter, the o
This puts that to shame!
Sincerely,
SpiritBloodDragon
