"A hero... for fun?" The woman slowly mouths. Her bright green pupils stare up at Saitama with what can only be called a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and a growing sense of awe.
'Some huntsmen liken themselves as heroes. This man, however, does not seem to be a huntsman... but his strength and power is on a level I never thought possible.'
The woman's mind races. Her late husband was a Huntsman for many years, and her older sister is currently a Huntress employed under Beacon. Through both of their accounts and recollections over the years, she'd gained a solid understanding of what Huntsmen are or aren't capable of. This man, Saitama, seems to completely shatter her existing understanding. Not even the aid of Aura can explain what he'd just so casually demonstrated.
'Many veterans could have killed that Nevermore with relative ease, but even they would still have to exert some level of effort. This man showed about as much enthusiasm as one would when swatting a fly when he slapped that Nevermore!'
"I can't believe I'm meeting a real life hero!" The woman's son cheers. "This is the best thing ever!"
Some of the bystanders can't help but sweat upon hearing the boy's exclamation.
This is the best thing ever? Did this child already forget that the city and school are under attack?
"Well, his clothes are kind of plain and boring for a hero, but who cares?" Another bystander nervously laughs. "He took care of that Nevermore like it was nothing!"
"Did you see how he just casually slapped it?! That was insane!"
"I even got it captured on video!"
"How did you even think of recording at that time? Hey, can you send that over to me?"
"Wow! Look at how shiny and smooth his scalp is! What oil brand do you think he uses in order to get that ultra polished sheen?"
Saitama's eyes violently twitch.
"So what if I'm bald?! Aren't you all supposed to be heading for a shelter or something?!" He yells. "Geez, all I wanted was a nice dinner and-"
The crowd points up above him and screams out in alarm.
"Bald guy, watch out! Beowolves!"
Several dozen Beowolves descend from the sky, presumably from one of the many bullheads floating above the courtyard. The beasts' bloodshot eyes hungrily lock onto the nearest visible prey, which oddly enough, is much shinier than they're used to seeing. However, that thought crosses their minds for less than a split second as they loudly snap their jaws at the air and snarl. Trails of thick saliva drip from the corners of their mouths as they near their latest victim.
"Consecutive normal punches."
Saitama lazily punches straight up with his right arm. To those that are watching, Saitama's fist seems to multiply into a wave of blurs directly above his head. He does not even bother to acknowledge the wave of creatures coming down upon him and stares straight ahead with an unchanging expression. Needless to say, every single Beowolf explodes into black mist in midair, akin to droplets of water splattering against a windshield.
Saitama brings his arm down and stares down at it before sighing.
"As usual..."
'Seriously... How have we never heard of this guy before? Who is he?!' Those watching silently wonder with wide, unblinking eyes.
"I've never heard of someone like this in the Huntsmen rankings..." One of them numbly mutters. "And with power like that, there's no way I wouldn't know about him, which can only mean... that he's not a Huntsman?!"
"He might as well have been swatting away bugs with the way he got rid of those Beowolves! He's the real deal!"
"The bald menace!" Another loudly exclaims with admiration. "Facing him, no Grimm could stand a chance! He's the bald menace!"
"Bald menace!"
"Bald menace!"
The other civilians begin to cheer and nod in agreement with that nickname, and like a plague, it rapidly spreads through the crowd before Saitama can react.
'... I'm going to punch these people. First it's Caped Baldy, and now it's Bald Menace. Why can't I have a normal hero name?! Why is it always related to my head?!'
"Mister Saitama," the woman softly calls out.
Saitama glances down at her.
"Just Saitama's fine," he replies while offering her a hand to help her up. "By the way, you and your kid should probably start heading for the nearest shelter. Can you walk?"
The woman grabs hold of his hand and pulls herself up. Then, she kneels down and carefully checks over her son to make sure he didn't get injured. Afterwards, she checks herself in an experienced manner. She'd learned how to do this from both her late spouse and sister. They'd insisted that all civilians should be required to learn basic first aid and medical skills, as it would be invaluable during times of emergency such as this. Aside from some minor bruising, she finds herself no worse for wear.
"Yes," she nods to Saitama. "I believe that I'm alright."
"That's good," he simply responds.
Saitama suddenly glances into the distance with a focused look in his eyes. The woman lightly gasps to herself when she sees a more serious look on his face, surprised by the sudden change in demeanor that so heavily contrasts his bored one. She feels a strange sense of calm reassurance that she can't quite put into words.
"That sure is a lot of them," he mutters. "Just like bugs."
The woman gulps and picks her child up in her arms.
"Shawn. We must go."
"Ehhh? But I want to talk to mister hero!"
"Mister hero has work to do," she soothingly says. "You don't want to distract him as he saves us, do you?"
"... No," the boy pouts.
She lovingly pats his head, and as she passes by Saitama's side, she quietly whispers so that only he can hear her words.
"Thank you."
Saitama blinks once. His expression hardly changes, but on the inside, he can't help but feel a little pleased.
Following the woman's leads, the others that were watching follow suite, taking this as a signal to leave the scene. High up in the skies, they can hear the bestial cries of various creatures of Grimm. Though the bald man destroyed them like nothing, that does not distract them from the fact that these monsters are truly terrifying and deadly.
As the crowd hurry towards the school buildings, the woman takes one final look back at Saitama, who is standing alone in the festival grounds with his back facing them. Her eyes slightly widen when she briefly imagines a long white cape flowing from his back, and she can't help but think how fitting it is.
'Not a Huntsman... A hero,' she slightly smiles to herself as she turns back around.
Many others shout out words of encouragement.
"Thanks a lot, bald guy! You're the best!"
"Go them 'em, Bald Menace!"
"You have a new fan, Bald Menace!"
"Can I have your autograph after all this is over?"
"Hang in there!"
Saitama grinds his teeth together every time someone calls him by his new unwanted nickname. Once the courtyard is emptied, the only remaining sounds in the air are the clashing of weapons, cries of unearthly beasts, and eruptions of fire.
"Time to get to work."
*** Dining Hall ***
The previously vast and expansive space of Beacon's dining hall is now engulfed in flames. Several of the massive support pillars are cracked. The majority of the tables and chairs have been demolished, and the once beautiful stained glass windows have been shattered. In the middle of this hall, two individuals are engaged in combat and exchanging heated words.
"This could have been our day! Why can't you see that?!" Adam angrily roars as he swings his blade.
"I never wanted this!" Blake yells back as her blade meets his. Sparks fly through the air.
"What I want is equality and peace!"
Adam lunges forward past her defenses and punches her in the ribs. Slowly but surely throughout their prolonged fight, Adam had chipped away at Blake's Aura, and with this latest strike, he finally inflicts some noticeable damage.
Blake winces as she feels her ribs crack from the blow, and in response, she kicks away while firing off several Dust rounds. Unsurprisingly, Adam deflects them away with his sword.
"What you want is impossible," he sharply retorts. "You and I both know that these-"
He abruptly pauses and narrows his eyes behind his mask. He was sure that only he and Blake were the only ones left in this dining hall.
Then... just who in the world is this bald man standing next to one of the windows?!
Much like Adam, Blake is utterly confused by the newcomer's appearance. Based on his attire, he is clearly just a normal civilian.
'His blank and unfocused expression... Is he shell shocked?' Blake realizes. 'He's in danger!'
Gritting her teeth, she quickly jumps in between the bald man and Adam. She hisses under her breath when she lands, as her fractured ribs scream in protest.
"What the heck happened here?" Saitama asks with his monotone voice. He eyes the broken tables and fires.
"Did those Grinch do this?"
Blake coughs and nearly loses her balance.
"W-What? Grinch?"
Adam growls under his breath, feeling unusually irritated by the sight of this clueless looking human. He lowers his stance and places a hand right over the handle of his sheathed sword.
"Trying to protect that pathetic looking human... How low you've fallen, Blake."
He glows red as he activates his Semblance.
"Stop me if you can. Know that his blood will be on your hands."
He dashes forward at full speed as a streak of black and red. Even against a helpless civilian, he would show no restraint or mercy.
Panic quickly fills Blake's core.
"No!" She desperately yells.
With her injury, there is no way that she'll be able to stop Adam. When she tries to raise her weapon, her body simply can not follow due to the pain in her ribs, and she stumbles. Adam dashes past her and draws his blade out at high speed. Without hesitation, he swings right for the bald man's neck, intent on beheading him.
Blake's face pales as she can do nothing but helplessly watch. However, what happens next will forever be ingrained into her memories. The bald man's arm comes up and intercepts Adam's crimson blade by grabbing it with his bare hand.
Shock and horror turns into disbelief when the razor sharp sword fails to cut cleanly through the man's hand. Instead, the weapon is firmly held within his grasp, and the abrupt stop in motion disrupts the power and speed Adam is channeling. As a result, the pent up energy ricochets back towards Adam through the blade and up his arm, before he is violently blasted backwards through the air. He is unable to even register what is happening as he is hurled into a pile of debris several yards away.
Blake numbly stares with her mouth open.
'What... just... happened?'
She can hardly believe what she just witnessed. Who in their right mind would grab onto a sword's edge that is in motion with their bare hands?! Not to mention, it was Adam's sword of all things! Also, why is this weird bald man completely unaffected?!
Saitama curiously looks down at the crimson sword in his hand. It is incredibly hot and emitting some smoke, but Saitama pays no attention to its temperature.
"Woah, how did he color this sword red? I wonder what kind of paint was used?"
Adam digs himself out of the pile of wood and stone he was launched into. He slightly wheezes and coughs while clutching at his chest with a hand, and he weakly glares at Saitama.
"What... did... you do?! Human!" He snarls.
Saitama looks up at him.
"That mask... is a little familiar," he mutters. "Hasn't the news been mentioning some group or something wearing white masks? What were they called again? Meat... Wheat... Wet... No, that wasn't it..."
He thoughtfully rubs the bottom of his chin as he tries to recall exactly what he'd heard on the television.
"You dare... mock us?" Adam roars.
"Oh! I remember now! The Feet Bang!"
Blake almost spits out blood.
'How in the world did he get Feet Bang from White Fang?! Is he being serious?'
"It is the White Fang!" Adam yells. "How dare you... Our noble cause for justice is far too great for the likes of you humans to comprehend! You, being born under circumstances no one can control, experience privileges and opportunities lost to my kind! How can you know anything about being spited, hated, and discriminated against?! The very same society that deems itself-"
"Okay. Yeah," Saitama mutters while scratching the back of his ear. "In any case, you guys are terrorists right? That means you're the ones responsible for the state of this place. Just because you're mad doesn't mean you can just go around doing stuff like this. What are you, a little kid throwing a tantrum?"
In a literal blink of an eye, Saitama is suddenly behind Adam and karate chops the top of his head. Before the ox Faunus can even start turning around, his face slams into the ground and is instantly knocked out.
"And that takes care of that," he nonchalantly nods. "Hmm. Since the Feet Bang are here, they probably have someone leading this attack. Hopefully this person is strong..."
Blake feels lightheaded, and her injuries have nothing to do with the sensation.
'This... person casually chopped Adam on the head and knocked him out with one hit! What was that speed?! Can I even call that speed?'
Her mind races. From her point of view, she blinked once and the bald man was suddenly behind Adam!
"Hey. Can you move?" Saitama asks her.
"Y-Yes," Blake stammers nervously. "I-Is he..."
She eyes Adam.
"Oh... He's alive. Probably. I held back a lot."
'Held back... That was holding back?!'
"Blake!"
Yang's voice calls out. The blonde jumps through one of the broken windows and sprints to Blake's side.
"Are you okay?" She quickly ask, then notices her partner's injury. "You're hurt!"
"I'll... be fine," Blake winces.
Yang turns her attention towards the only other conscious person in the area and narrows her eyes at him.
"Who's this guy? Did he do this to you?"
Blake grabs onto Yang's shoulder and rapidly shakes her head.
"It's the opposite!" She quickly says.
She mentally sweats. If Yang jumps the gun and picks a fight with this man, there is no one in Remnant that would be able to help her. Assuming what she witnessed moments before was not a hallucination, this man could probably knock Yang out with a casual sneeze.
"Huh. Is that right?" Yang doubtfully says. "Alright baldy. You got a name?"
"... It's Saitama," he grumbles. "I'm a hero that happened to be in the area when the Grinch and Feet Bang started attacking."
Yang stares at Saitama like he's crazy.
"What... and the what?"
"I... think he's referring to the Grimm and the White Fang," Blake quietly points out.
"How did he even get- Wait a second, did he just say hero?"
Yang raises an eyebrow and looks over Saitama's appearance. Painfully bland pants. A plain white shirt that seems to be the wrong size. His bald head and the clueless look in his eyes. No matter how Yang tries to spin it, she just can't bring herself to take this guy seriously.
Oblivious to Yang's mental judgements, Saitama reaches down and pinches the back of Adam's black coat to lift him up. Blake swallows a mouthful of saliva at the sight of Adam's head loosely rolling on his shoulders, similarly to those bobble head toys. She can even see foam bubbling out from his mouth, clearly indicating that he wouldn't be waking up any time soon.
"Hmm... What to do with this guy?" Saitama mutters.
He pinches a little too hard and the fabric rips.
"Oops! I accidentally ripped his nice coat. My bad!"
Adam's face unceremoniously crashes against the floor once again, only this time, there is a fist sized hole on the back of his clothes, painting a rather bizarre picture. Yang winces at the sight and slings one of Blake's arm over her shoulder to help her up.
"I feel so lost as to what's going on... Care to explain?"
"Well, the guy that's unconscious over there," Blake slowly says while pointing. "That's Adam."
Yang looks up in thought.
"Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"He's the former mentor I told you all about when we were in Mountain Glenn. He is... I guess it's was now, the one leading the White Fang on this attack against Beacon."
Yang lightly shakes Blake while grinning, making her wince.
"Oh! Sorry. But anyways, you beat your old mentor in a fight! That's great!"
"Uh... Nope," Blake awkwardly replies. She glances at Saitama, who's currently picking at his ear. "He did."
Yang intently stares into Blake's eyes, then puts a hand up to her forehead.
"We should get you checked out at the infirmary for head injuries as soon as possible."
"I'm being serious!"
"...That guy beat your mentor? Against a top elite fighter in the White Fang?"
Blake weakly nods.
"And... he kind of did it... with one hit."
Yang glances between Saitama and Adam several times. Though she's only heard of Adam from Blake's accounts, isn't he supposed to be some kind of badass swordsman? Meanwhile, this bald guy is... well... bald, and very plain looking.
Blake recognizes the doubt in Yang's eyes.
"I'm telling the truth! That bald man suddenly appeared behind Adam when he was several yards away, then chopped the top of his head. It wasn't even a fight!" She insists.
Saitama's ears perk up.
"Hey! So what if I'm bald?!"
The two girls gasp and jolt backwards. Saitama is inexplicably right next to them without either noticing his approach. He is also dragging Adam by his arm like a ragdoll.
'How did he get so close without me noticing?! Wasn't he across the room just a second ago?!' Yang sweats.
"D-Don't move buddy!" She yells while pointing at him. "Stay right where you are, weirdo! We're still figuring out what's going on, so don't even think about using that teleporting Semblance again!"
Saitama looks down at himself and raises an eye.
"Okay, but can you hurry up? Weirdo? I'm just wearing normal clothes though. Teleporting? I'm not an esper so I can't do something like that..."
"Then how did you get behind Adam earlier?" Blake skeptically asks while pointing down at Adam. "I literally blinked once and it was already over."
"The hell is an esper?" Yang asks.
Saitama scratches the side of his cheek.
"Uh... I just ran behind him. Anyways, this guy is a White Bang member right? What're you going to do about him? I kind have some other stuff to take care of so-"
"White! Fang! It's White Fang!" Yang exclaims. "We just said the name like 10 seconds ago!"
"Uh huh, right. My bad," Saitama nods while looking completely unapologetic.
Blake feels a headache encroaching, and she's fairly certain it is not due to the smoke in the air.
"We need to turn him in," she sighs. "Adam's actions are... unforgivable. He has to answer for them."
"I get that, but how are we supposed to do that?" Yang asks. "With the craziness going on right now, we can't exactly just call for law enforcement to pick him up. This fire isn't helping either."
"Oh yeah. The fire," Saitama remembers. He drops Adam onto the floor like a sack of potatoes and turns around towards the rest of the dining hall that's been burning. He casually claps his hands together at the flames.
A resounding sonic wave erupts out from his hands. The force of the blast conjures up a violent gust of wind that overpowers the flames in an instant. In the distance, the sound of thousands of glass windows shattering can be heard.
Yang and Blake uncover their ringing ears and stare with shock, horror, and awe painted on their faces.
"... Holy shit."
The two girls silently stare on as Saitama walks over and grabs a long piece of steel beam that is at least 3 inches thick. Then, he begins to casually wrap it around Adam's unconscious body like a cocoon with no visible difficulty. Afterwards, he takes the "loose" end of the steel beam and crudely ties it around one of the support columns.
"There we go," Saitama says while giving himself a satisfied nod. "Should be safe and secure until the police get here to deal with him. Hey, you two, this is good enough, right?"
'I'm hearing some fighting underground too. Sounds pretty intense too. I should head over and check it out,' He thinks.
"Oh, and you two should start heading for the school shelters. There are a bunch of civilians there that might need help," he says to the two girls before he jogs towards Beacon Tower.
Though it is merely a jog for Saitama, from Yang's and Blake's perspectives, he is the fastest person they'd ever laid their eyes upon.
"... He bent that long piece of reinforced steel around like it was putty," Yang mutters. "Hey Blake... Do you maybe think that being bald can make you stronger?"
"I seriously can not believe you just asked me that question..."
Blake takes another look at Adam's steel beam cocoon and sweats.
"But... maybe?"
*** Beacon Tower ***
The courtyard under Beacon Tower is a battlefield between Beacon's students, Huntsmen, and Atlas soldiers against members of the White Fang, Grimm, and rogue Paladins.
"Velvet watch out!" Coco yells.
A Paladin swings its armature and hits Velvet's side.
"Ah!" She cries out.
As the Atlesian war machine aims a cannon at the rabbit Faunus, the ground violently rumbles and splits open underneath it. Like a maw, the ground collapses, and the resulting hole swallows the machine into its depths. The shaking of the ground intensifies, and a scorching pillar of fire erupts from the opening in the ground. A foreign object is launched and crashes into the ground, revealed to be the molten remains of the Paladin. As the ground continues to spew out a geyser of flames and magma, the surrounding air and ground quickly turn red hot. Those near the opening, whether they be White Fang or Huntsmen, all hastily retreat from the danger zone.
In the middle of the rising pillar of inferno, those on the ground can see a semi-translucent sphere of emerald colored energy being blasted high into the night sky. Once it reaches the apex of its height, it unnaturally swerves through the air and lands on top of Beacon Tower.
The fire pillar suddenly flickers out, and from the smoldering remains of the gaping hole in the ground, a figure clad in black and red clothes flies out like a jet, looking like nothing but a blur to the onlookers. Without missing a beat, the figure soars straight for the top of the Tower where the emerald sphere went.
"What was that?! What's happening?!" Ruby exclaims with wide eyes as she flips away and simultaneously shoots down a Beowolf.
Weiss nimbly ducks underneath the swinging arm of an Ursa, then quickly stabs it multiple times in succession with her rapier.
"How should I know?!" The heiress yells back. Her normally pale and flawless skin, as well as her once pristine outfit, are now covered in patches of soot, grime, and blood.
Their attention is suddenly drawn to the doors at the base of Beacon Tower. Pyrrha and Jaune stumble out into the courtyard covered in soot and minor burns.
"Jaune!"
"Pyrrha!"
Alarmed, Ruby, Weiss, and the members of CFVY rush over to the duo. The blonde knight and the Mistralian champion both collapse into a seated position with weary and panicked expressions.
"What happened to you two?" Coco quickly asks. "Why are you two coming out from Beacon Tower of all places?"
Jaune wheezes and coughs out a small cloud of dust.
"Professor... Ozpin..." He manages to breathe out.
Pyrrha does not look any better as her complexion is abnormally pale. This is undoubtedly due to the delicate transfer process of the Maiden power between her and Amber being so violently disrupted.
She raises a trembling arm towards the open hole in the courtyard.
"The professor... and... Cinder... Fall..." She weakly says.
Ruby's eyes widen.
"Cinder... Fall? Why does that sound so familiar?"
"She's the transfer student from Haven," Weiss remembers. "Don't... Don't tell me that-"
"Hey you!" A soldier yells. "Stay away from there! It's dangerous!"
The students turns their heads towards the source of the commotion, only to find a plain, bald man standing near the edge of the hole in the ground and peering down. Based on his choice of clothing and lack of weaponry, the man is clearly just a civilian. However, what Pyrrha and some of the more attentive people present realize is that this unknown man is casually standing on top of extremely hot ground that was molten magma just moments ago.
"Did a monster do this?" Saitama wonders to himself. "A big worm maybe?"
"Hey! Why aren't you taking cover in a shelter? Who are you?" A soldier demands.
Saitama turns towards the soldier and points a finger at himself.
"Me? I'm Saitama. I'm here because-"
Another rogue Paladin crashes into the scene, knocking aside several soldiers and students in its way. The giant robot locks its missiles onto the warmest humanoid target in its range and fires straight at Saitama.
"Oh no!" Ruby gasps before dashing into action.
Without hesitation, Weiss traces some glyphs as quickly as she can muster them and accelerates Ruby. However, based on the trajectory of the missile and the speed at which Ruby is traveling, she can clearly see that her partner will not be quick enough to intercept the explosive. The heiress can do nothing but watch with helpless dread. In slow motion, the missile continues to travel through the air closer and closer to the target until it finally meets... a... hand?
Saitama reaches out and grabs the missile from its side. Then, like how a child would barrel roll a toy airplane, he arcs the missile up and over to aim it towards the Paladin. When he lets go, he gives it a slight nudge to boost its speed. As a result, the missile that was already traveling at supersonic speed flies back at the Paladin at a velocity that the majority of those present can not follow with their eyes. Even Ruby, who is highly accustomed to high velocity movement, is barely able to catch Saitama's actions.
In real time, from the perspective of those watching, the Paladin suddenly explodes as their eyes are still trained onto Saitama. One moment, they were about to witness the unfortunate death of a civilian, and in the next, he continues to stand there with a blank expression while the Paladin explodes into flames in the background.
"WHAAAAAAT?!" Everyone yells.
Weiss's mouth is wide open and her shoulders are slumped. Meanwhile, Jaune, Pyrrha, and the members of CFVY are stunned into silence with eyes as big as dinner plates.
Ruby trips in the middle of her sprint and crashes headfirst into Saitama's back. She yelps and whines as it feels like she just ran straight into a concrete wall.
"Hmm?"
Upon impact, Saitama turns around and swiftly catches the petite girl midair in order to stop her from landing on the hot ground. He looks down at her with a raised eye.
Ruby rubs her nose and looks up at him.
"That... was totally amazing!" She exclaims. "How did you do that?! You just went SHOOM WOOO KABAM with that missile!"
Saitama progressively leans further away as Ruby disregards any concept of personal space.
"Uh... Can you not lean so close to me like that?"
Ruby blinks and scratches the back of her neck with an embarrassed look.
"Oops! Sorry, hehe."
"Guys. What was that? What did I just see?" Jaune mutters with a dazed look. "Or... What did I not see? That Paladin totally just blew up right? Where did that missile go?!"
"I... barely caught what happened as well," Pyrrha whispers. "It all happened so quickly that I would not be surprised if I simply imagined it."
Saitama steps out of the burning area and sets Ruby down. Then, he tilts his head up towards the top of the tower where brief flashes of light can be seen through the curtain of mist and smoke.
"Up there, huh?"
He puts a foot forward, then bends his knees. Flexing his muscles, he jumps up. The ground beneath him cracks into spiderwebs and caves inwards into a small crater as he kicks off. Looking like nothing but a fleshy colored blur, Saitama disappears up into the night sky.
Ruby coughs and clears the dust away from her face.
"Woah..."
"Seriously. What just happened?" Jaune blankly asks once again.