I don't own One Punch Man, nor do I own My Hero Academia. Each Franchise is owned by their respective owners. Enjoy!
Aldera Junior High...
Two weeks has passed since Toshinori faced off against the infamous pro-hero, Vigorous, who was jailed for encouraging suicide to the quirkless people.
Both Genos and Yui has insisted that they have to train on their own, as to avoid burdening Toshinori much to his disagreement.
Masashi and Mezo were quiet most of the time, but still managed to throw insults to both him and Genos, but rarely.
Genos, however, was still bullied and teased in his class. When it was lunch break, Toshinori approached Genos, who looked down almost everytime they meet together in lunch breaks.
He subconsciously wrapped his arm around Genos, bringing him closer gently, "Hey, you alright, Genos?" Toshinori asked in concern.
Genos didn't answer, and only looked down. This concerned Toshinori, of course, "Genos?" He called out again, only to be greeted with silence..
Toshinori frowned, before waving his hand in front of Genos, "Oi, oi!" he called out again, as Genos finally responded, "O- oh! I'm sorry! I...I didn't mean to-!"
Toshinori let out a light laugh, "It's alright. What's eating your mind, yo?" He said as he took a sit in the cafetaria.
Before Genos could respond, a teasing voice came from not so far, "Look, it's the quirkless loner. What a loser."
Genos was affected a bit by the insult, and kept quite. He sat next to Toshinori, who smiled at him, "Don't heed their words, Genos-san. What'd I tell ya? It's not worth it."
Genos let out a tear, getting himself closer to the older boy. Toshinori patted his head, "What's been eating you? Why are you crying?"
"I.. I really don't have friends..everyone hates me...it..it felt like..it felt sucked." Genos finally responded. He remembered what happened a yesterday, but decided to keep it secret from both Toshinori and Dr. Kuseno...
Genos was understandably excited. A quirked girl from Aldera, trying to date him? A quirkless nobody? That's a nice change of pace.
They've been talking for the past few days, and the girl decided that it was time for them to date.The girl was named Tachibana Hahashi.
Tachibana entered the designated restaurant with Genos, holding his hand. However, unbeknownst to Genos, she was keeping a menacing smile behind her kind and down to earth attitude.
A few seconds later, a fat man from beside him used his quirk to get his pants off of him. Genos found himself half naked, in front of PUBLIC, that is.
Genos looked down in panic, "What the?!"
Tachibana looked to him, before berating him, "Huuuuhhh?! Who the hell are you?! Why are you naked...BEHIND ME?!" Tachibana began yelling at him.
The customers in that restaurant rested their eyes on the half naked boy, who was panicking inside, but at the same time, was confused. Genos looked at her, frantically getting his pants back on,"Tachibana-san, it's me! I'm... I'm Genos! We're on a date, remember? And as for the pants, I don't even-"
Tachibana slapped him, "PEEERVEEEERRRTTT!!! HEELLPP!" Genos frantically said, "It's not what it looks l-" he was cut off when Tachibana kicked him in the balls, "That's for trying to cop a feeling on me! I'm out of here!" before getting out of the restaurant, unbeknownst to Genos, with the fat guy who pulled the stunt.
Roars erupted from the customers. One of disgust and anger at the boy's 'ungodly' actions.
Genos fell to the ground, holding his testicles in pain. A certain waiter came to him, before saying, "You've disrupted the peace in this restaurant. Get out of here, brat."
"B- but-" Genos was cut off when multiple people grabbed him, "W- wait! I... I didn't-" he was thrown out of the restaurant already, "I didn't-!" the door was shut down.
Genos looked down, tears streaming down his face. He looked up, only to see the girl he dated high-fiving the fat kid who did the prank, "Good job, Kiba! That'll show him!" Tachibana said loudly.Genos approached them, "Why...why? We...we were dating, were we? The time we spent...the friendship we tried to build...it was all real, right-?"
Tachibana laughed out loud, "As if quirkless losers like you can ever get a friend! Stay dreaming, loser, loser!" She stuck out a tongue to him, before saying to her friend, "Let's delta!"
Kiba nodded, before going away with the girl. Genos collapsed on the ground. All that...was fake?
Genos found himself trying to hold back his tears at the sight of the memory.
But then, Toshinori replied, "You have a friend, and that's me! And not everyone hates you, that's not true."
Genos only nodded as a response, but Toshinori knew that something else was at play here. He then decided to say, "And what about that girlfriend of yours? You kept telling me about her, she been taking a good care of you?"
Genos winced at the mention of his 'girlfriend'. He decided to lie, "Yeah she's...fine."
Alright, this was suspicious enough. Toshinori decided to be more blunt, "Did something happen between you and her?"
Genos raised his voice a bit, "N- no! We've been cool!" That was a lie. Toshinori was suspicious, and his suspicion was confirmed when he accidentally heard some kind of conversation behind him.
"Shit, is that the pervert from yesterday?"
"Yeah, heard that from a local restaurant. Someone complained to the principal, telling him to keep the kids here on leash, lest one of them decided to become a rapist."
"Let's just stay away from him. He's a weirdo, plus, he's quirkless."
Toshinori's confusion was arisen even more when he looked back and saw that one of the boys was holding a picture...of Genos, half-naked, behind a girl, who he knew as...is that Genos's girlfriend?
Toshinori eyed Genos carefully, "I believe you owe me an explanation, Genos-san."
Genos looked at him with a fake confused expression, "Eh? What do you mean-" "Drop the act, look behind you." Toshinori ordered.
Genos looked back, only to see a boy holding a picture which shows...
"What the hell?!" Genos yelled out loud. Shit! Toshinori isn't supposed to know! This is his problem for him to deal and him alone!
"So?" Toshinori asked darkly. Genos was silent for a few moments, before replying, "It's...the friendship I've built with Tachibana...all of it was a set up...for me to get humiliated...I wasn't planning to tell this to you.."
Toshinori's blood boiled. He asked one more time, "We're friends, right? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did you lie?"
Genos was frozen in place at the intimidation display. Toshinori realised this, before his expression softened, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..but...WHAT THE FUCK?!" He yelled to apparently no one.
"Tell me what happened, everything, from the beginning to the end, right now." Toshinori demanded.
Genos was reluctant, but he didn't want to face the wrath of his one and only friend, who stayed by his side, was there when he needed someone the most, he didn't want to lose this friendship..
He replied, "Um..I..I was going on a date...with Tachibana-san...but then...I found out that she and her friend has been planning this moment from before...Kiba-san, who was Tachibana-san's friend, used his quirk to pull my pants off, then Tachibana accused me of being a pervert.." Genos found himself sobbing mid-sentence, before forcing himself to continue, "I was kicked out of the restaurant..and they..they laughed at me.."
As if quirkless losers like you can ever get a friend! Stay dreaming, loser, loser!
He began sobbing uncontrollably into the table. Toshinori's blood boiled even more. He brought himself closer, wrapping one of his arm on Genos's shoulder to give him a bit sense of comfort, but he didn't know what to say.
All he felt was anger. Anger that those kids...no...demon spawns, manipulated Genos like a pawn. For the next few moments, Toshinori didn't eat at all, because he didn't feel like it. Genos decided to order something to calm him down.
By the time he's done, his eyes are crimson red. Genos looked at Toshinori, who wasn't eating at all. It was his fault. He made his one and only friend uncomfortable, "Toshinori-kun.. I'm sorry if what i said made you uncomfortable, I'm-"
Toshinori quickly hugged him, "Don't apologise, please, I'm not disgusted by you, I'm not going to stay away from you just for that. It's not your fault, it's theirs."
Genos found himself crying on Toshinori's shoulder, "Thank you...for always being there for me..."
"No problem, Genos-san.. that's what friends are for." Toshinori smiled. A few moments later, their moment was ruined when a snicker was heard, "Aw, looks like the little pervert found an upperclassmen to hide behind!"
Toshinori lowered his eyebrow, his mouth twitched, before looking at the source of the voice. It was Tachibana, with the group of girls following behind.
Toshinori defensive instinct drove him to reply, "You girls have anything better to do than to make him worse than he already was?" He said with a bit of venom in his voice.
She laughed out loud, before saying, "Just wanted to remind him how much of a worthless piece of shit he is. Right, Genos-san? You're such a sad weakling, can't even score a fine bitch like me! Let's go, girls!" She finished with a tone of arrogance, before walking away with the girls following her along.
Genos removed himself from Toshinori's embrace, before looking away. Toshinori placed his hand on his shoulder, "You...wanna come over and get a rest from your training after school? I mean..if you want, though.."
"It's okay, Toshinori-kun, I've been more of a burden than I already am.." Genos stated, earning a sigh from Toshinori, "Genos, you are not-" He was cut off when Genos suddenly ran away.
"G- Genos!" Toshinori called out. He stood up, chasing after him with his regular speed, avoiding unneccesary attention if he used his powers too much.
He found out that Genos is already gone to his class. As if the universe was fucking with him, by the time he's going to his class, the bell rung. Yep. Fuck the universe.
"It is what it is...see you soon, Genos.." Toshinori said to himself, as he walked back to his class. He had the final exam to worry about next week anyway.
After school, Kuseno's household...
Genos was seen training in the backyards, training his body beyond his limits.
More strength!
"90!" Came a grunt from the young boy.
MORE POWER!
"91!" Genos counted again, as he did another push-ups.
MORE! I HAVE TO BE STRONGER!
As he did more, Genos's muscle were burning and aching like never before. He ignored the pain, before going beyond his limits once again. "99...!"
His right elbow made a 'weird clicking noise', as Toshinori had warned. He felt pain, unmeasurable pain. He collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily as the sun's beam graced his body.
"Genos." An old man called out from the house. "K...Kuseno..san..." Genos muttered in his tiredness. "It's time to rest." Kuseno sternly stated.
"I still...have other things...to...do...to finish.." Genos countered, feeling the beads of sweat wetting his clothes.
"No." Kuseno sternly forbade him, "You have to rest. This training regime will kill you. Yagi-san might have the strength to endure it, but it's clear that you're not ready yet.."
Genos, amidst his newly formed tears, said, "Kuseno-san..you don't understand...I admire him...he is one of the first person who has shown me kindness besides my parents..And...I want to be like him, I want to be strong like him! I want to be special..." He looked at Kuseno with his sad eyes, "Like..like him..." he tried his best not to have a mental breakdown in front of his stepfather.
"You are already-" Kuseno was cut off when Genos yelled, "I'm not! I'm not special! Not at all! I'm weak, I couldn't save my parents, I couldn't do anything! Compared to Toshinori-kun, I'm just a...pile of trash! I AM NOTHING COMPARED TO HIM!"
"See, this is the problem with you, you always compare yourself to other people. You are your own person, you're not Yagi-san, you're Akira Genos, you're special in your own way." Kuseno added, "More importantly, you're special to me, and you're special to Yagi-san too."
Genos looked away, before saying, "...Thank you, Kuseno-san, but..."
"But nothing. You're going to stop this training at once, and that's not a request," Kuseno smiled, "Besides, your friend is here for a social visit."
Genos looked at Kuseno with a surprised look, a friend? Who-?
Genos's answer was provided when a red-haired girl emerged out of the door, "Hello, Akira-san." Yui Ichika is here with two ice creams in her hands. She stretched one of her hands to Genos, "Want some?"
Outside of the house...
Genos found himself talking with Yui in front of the household.
"So...your girlfriend tricked you and humiliated you in front of the public?" Yui asked with concern, while still consuming her ice cream.
"...I wouldn't say girlfriend." Genos corrected darkly. Yui replied, "I'm...sorry to hear that. Did you talk to Yagi-san or Kuseno-san about this?"
Genos nodded, before taking a bite from his ice cream again. "Don't worry about it. There's still a lot of girls other than her." She lifted a thumbs up, earning a small smile from Genos.
He then asked, "Did you train today?"
Yui shook her head, "It's too tiring. My muscles are still aching, so I gotta rest for a few days until the pain is gone. I know Yagi-san is over-the-top with this training regime, but I don't plan on following how he does things. It's...really painful."
Genos let out a small laugh, "It was painful for me too. Did you do it everyday?"
Yui shook her head again, much to Genos's disappointment, "I only do this four times a week, which means I take a break in-between each day."
Genos spoke, "Well..for me, I did it everyday...until now, I couldn't handle it anymore. My arm almost broke."
Yui widened her eyes in shock, before yelling, "You idiot! What were you thinking?!"
"If I want to be strong, then I have to try harder than everyone else. I even attempted to do a 200 push-ups once..it didn't end well.." Genos laughed nervously.
Yui shook her head in disbelief, "Your passion to be strong is just too much. You have to take it easy and slow. Even the strongest hero were once a crying brat too, but they overcome their weakness and become strong slowly and slowly. Overdoing it doesn't mean 'overcoming your weakness'. That's just another word for suicide." She finished lecturing her younger friend.
Genos sheepishly smiled, "Well, um..maybe you're right but...I always admired Toshinori-kun, you know? He's just...the best, the strongest person I've ever met. I want to be like him.."
"Don't strive to BE like HIM, strive to be better than him, Akira-san. Looking up to someone could be a shackle for you. You wouldn't be your own person, you would just be a cheap knockoff of Yagi-san." She countered.
For hours, they continued like this, conversing and sharing their thoughts with each other until the sun finally set. Yui stood up, "Ah, look at the time...gotta go, Akira-san! See ya tomorrow?" She offered a high five.
Genos smiled widely, before returning the high-five, "Yeah! See you later, Yui!" he waved a goodbye wave.
Yui returned the same, before walking out of sight. Genos yawned, feeling sleepy. He has to sleep, but before that, he have to take a shower first. He sighed, this has been a long day...
A few weeks later...
Toshinori finished the last final exams, waiting for the school bell to rung. These past few weeks has been nothing but boredom. Nothing interesting happening lately. Masashi and Mezo had gone even quieter than before.
Apparently, due to Vigorous being arrested, both of the bullies were taken into temporary custody by the pro-hero, Floatie, Shimura Nana. Toshinori smiled at the thought. Shimura-san was a nice person, and he hoped that these two would change their ways, since Shimura-san is their new temporary guardian.
He would not get his hopes high though, before he gets disappointed. What concerns him more, though, Genos has been acting quiet lately.
He's worried sick about his younger friend. He wanted to just stay by his side and tell him that everything's fine, but he didn't know what to reassure, as the boy was not very open with him for the past few weeks.
He sighed in relief when the bell rung, indicating that the students can go home. He grabbed his bag, ignoring the deadly looks given by both Masashi and Mezo. If looks could kill, Toshinori would've been nothing but a corpse right now.
He went outside, to the school yard, finding Genos walking by himself. Before he can approach him, suddenly, Masashi, and Mezo, approached the younger boy.
Genos looked at them with confusion, "What...?"
Masashi began inspecting Genos's biceps, before asking, "Oi, oi, oi, the quirkless cunt is gaining muscles."
Mezo mocked, "Think you can outclass us by exercise alone?"
"Your ass won't survive in UA with physical strength alone." Masashi added. Genos sighed, "You're not the one to decide whether I'll be successful or not." he hissed.
"You got the balls to talk back to us now, eh?! Now that there's someone there to protect you?! I promise you, Yagi fucking Toshinori will get thrashed so bad by us one day, that there'll be no one to protect you! You hear me, asshole?!" Mezo yelled to his face, "YA HEAR ME?!?!"
"Heh, even Toshinori is more of a man than you are, you fucking wimpy coward! But no matter, we'll rough him up so bad, you have no one left to go to, and when that time comes, you're so fucking dead!" Masashi added.
Genos was unaffected by their threats. He turned his back on them, walking away in silent. "YA IGNORING US?! ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON US?! UNDERESTIMATING US?!" Mezo yelled loudly.
Before they can approach the younger boy again, Toshinori appeared in front of them in an instant, "You know, I heard all the threats you've given him, and god, it was so fucking hilarious."
"You think you can look down on us now that you've got that mysterious quirk out of nowhere?! Eh?! You'll see, you piece of shit, when we're done with you, that fucking boy is next!" Mezo yelled back.
"You go near him and you're dead." Toshinori threatened, lowering his tone, "You got that? You won't ever go through me to get to that boy. I thought you both have changed, but even Shimura-san can't fix your god-awful attitudes."
"That old hag?! Hah!" Mezo laughed out loud, "We don't give a shit about her."
Toshinori was silent for a few seconds, before standing straight, walking away from them, "You're all hopeless." before sprinting away in an instant, in the direction of Genos, who was unaware of all that.
Genos noticed that Toshinori appeared besides him in an instant, giving him an instantenous smile, "T- Toshinori-kun!"
Toshinori smiled back, "I saw all that. You did a great job standing up to them." He lifted a thumbs up, "You're improving."
"So you heard all that..." Genos said, sadly. Toshinori nodded, before asking, "What's wrong?"
Genos replied, "I just... I'm just getting sick of..feeling like...I have to be protected by you all the time..I have to be able to defend myself..I don't want to rely on you all the time! But I'm too weak, too weak...and I ended up being more of a burden-"
Toshinori shook his head, "Genos, stop. You'll be strong enough soon, but this is not the time. You don't have to feel bad for relying on me. And as I said, you've improved. You stood up to them earlier, something that you've never done before. You have to take things slow, Genos." He placed his hand on the younger boy's shoulder, "Besides, I'm your friend. Protecting each other is what friends do.."
Genos nodded, feeling himself relieved and reassured. He muttered silently, "Thank you, Toshinori-kun..."
Toshinori gave him a hard pat to the back, "Lighten yourself up, shonen!" he laughed, "Wanna have something to eat?"
Genos immediately nodded, "Sure!" as they walked with each other to the nearest food store.
Up in the roof, Nana, and her best friend, Sorahiko, were patrolling. Nana were intrigued by Toshinori. Smiling, she said, "I think I found the next sucessor for One for All."
Sorahiko looked at her, "Are you sure?"
"He's got the right attitude. Very heroic, very kind, would do anything to ensure the safety of others...yep, I think he's the one. Plus, with that quirk..no, whatever he has on his sleeve.." She shortly stopped, referring to Toshinori's odd quirkless situation, before continuing, "combined with One for All.." Nana stopped shortly, before continuing, "He could bring an end to that madman."
"Ah..." Sorahiko replied, before saying, "Well...whatever your choice is, I will support it."
"Thanks, Sorahiko.." Nana replied gratefully.
Nana then eyed the boy very carefully, "Well..guess I'll have to wait until U.A comes to your life, kid. Until then...
Good luck."
THAT'S IT FOR TODAY'S CHAPTER! Stay tuned for the next!