"G-get away from me!" A shrill voice rang out, though there was no one around to hear it. Huddled in a corner was a short, green haired girl. Her clothes were raggy and unkempt, and there were a couple sizable tears in them. Backing her up into said corner was a tall, lanky man with far too many stains on his shirt. He looked exactly like a typical low class criminal, with shaggy, dirty hair and cold, unfocused eyes. Probably the drugs he likely took. In his hand, he held a switchblade that was surprisingly wielded with fluency, despite him clearly being under the influence.

"C'mon girl, there's no need for that. Just come with me and it'll be good" The man leered, taking a step closer. The girl just sobbed and pressed herself further against the wall. None of this was supposed to happen. She was just getting (read: robbing) some food for her sister and was caught unawares as she was making her way back. The food she had stolen was currently spilled out across the ground.

"When the time comes, don't go expecting someone to come save you," A voice rang out in her head.

"I fucking know that!" The girl yelled mentally. The voice continued its line, the same line that it always said whenever she was in this type of situation.

"Only you can save yourself."

The short girl only bared her teeth at the man. Her powers weren't working, and the man was walking closer. She raised her arm up in an attempt to channel her energy, but nothing was happening. She was too overwhelmed with fear to focus. After all, laying beside the man was the body of her sister.

The man grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the alleyway. She attempted to punch the man but her feeble punch simply bounced off his shirt. She tried to drag her feet along the ground, causing the man to slow down. Frowning, he turned around and gave a slow but heavy punch to her face. A choked cry came from the girl and she fell backwards. The man decided to continue dragging her. This time, she didn't resist.

"There there, that wasn't so hard was it?" He grinned, walking towards a van parked nearby. His smile showed a row of discoloured teeth, some rotting. "Now, get in the van and I'll treat you to some nice suppa, hows that sound?"

His voice was incredibly fake, using the types of sounds a parent would talk to their baby with. The only difference in his voice was the sheer malice it held, sending chills down the girl's spine.

He had opened the van door by now and was about to shove the girl in when a voice called out.

"Hey, you can't go around and abduct girls off the street! Stop immediately!"

A man in a blue tracksuit ran towards them.

"Fuck off! It's none of your business!" The low class criminal shouted, though his grip tightened on his knife.

"It's all of my business. I can't let you drag around an innocent girl." Blue tracksuit guy said, now standing next to them, arms crossed.

"..." The criminal stared at the man's face, so full of determination and with a fire in his eyes.

"You have such nice eyes." The criminal said.

"Why, than-" Blue tracksuit guy's eyes widened as the man suddenly swung a knife at him.

Narrowly dodging the blade, he cursed as the side of his precious tracksuit was caught by the blade. The knife ripped through the fabric, creating a large gash.

"That cost me a lot, you know!" He shouted, angry. Doding a second swing, he ducked under the criminal's arm and gave a resounding uppercut. It connected solidly and lifted the criminal a feet above the ground, spittle flying out his mouth. The little girl let out a yelp as the criminal collapsed onto the ground.

Staring at the blue tracksuit guy in half horror and half admiration, she managed to whisper out,

"W-who are you?"

"Name's Saitama." The blue tracksuit guy said, reaching out his hand for her to shake. She didn't take it.

"I-I'm called Tatsumaki."

"So lemme get this straight, you've recently escaped from some sort of underground lab, and now you're roaming the streets stealing food to live." Saitama said, chewing his udon noodles.

"Yeah… my parents sold me away when I was young." Tatsumaki said, looking downcast. Her bowl of noodles lay on the table, completely finished.

Saitama winced. Hell, his childhood wasn't great by any means. But he'd much rather live his than the nightmare Tatsumaki had to go through.

Tatsumaki didn't even know why she was opening up with this man. At first, she had been cold, calculating in her responses as they walked down the city streets to the noodle shop. She didn't want to get to know this guy, and definitely did not want him to know her. But something about was different, especially considering this was the first- no, second, time that someone stood up for her. The first time was Blast, the man who saved her from that wretched foundation.

And now the second, was this man.

He had engaged in some light conversation, none of it probing. A nearby cat had walked by, and after some failed enticing it hissed at him and ran away. Tatsumaki had laughed.

He appeared to be a pretty carefree guy. He said he was going on a midnight run, because he had forgotten to do so earlier. Mentally, Tatsumaki scoffed. No one was stupid or determined… right?

Saitama just seemed to have an air of calm and relaxation though, and she couldn't help but began to talk. Of course, caring for Fubuki was also a good way to her heart. Oh, and the free noodles. Those were good too.

Fubuki was currently sleeping on a nearby chair. Her knife wound wasn't as deep as they thought, and with some bandages and alcohol wipes Saitama had on his person (Why was he even carrying those?) it seemed pretty patched up.

"How old are you?" Saitama asked, snapping Tatsumaki out of her thoughts

"..."

"I'm 25."

Saitama's mouth dropped. What. The. Fuck. This green haired kid? No way.

To be fair, he doubted a girl with a "younger" sister as well endowed as a fashion idol would be under 18.

"So… Why this?" Saitama said, spreading out his arms. Tatsumaki knew what he was referring to.

"Well… My family was rich, and blessed, or cursed you could say. Me and my sister were born with ESP powers. You know, I can move stuff around."

To demonstrate, she lifted up a chopstick, the green hue coating it glowing gently. It floated in the air, and then poked Saitama in the nose.

"Hey!" Saitama protested, making him close his mouth. He hadn't realized his jaw had dropped at the sight of her powers.

Tatsumaki giggled.

"Anyway, some scientists found out, turned out they belonged to a really powerful organization. My parents, sensing an opportunity, sold us out at the first chance they got. Must've been a lot of cash they were offered. At least, I guess I graduated elementary school before it happened."

Tatsumaki shuddered as she remembered the scene.

A comforting hand was placed on her head, ruffling her hair. "Don't worry, my little girl. These fine men are just here to run some tests. Like going to the doctor's, you know?"

"When will I come back?" An innocent Tatsumaki asked, looking up at her dad.

I can't even remember his face, thought Tatsumaki.

Her dad's cheerful smile grew smaller. "Soon, my sweet. Maybe in a… just, uh, soon."

Tatsumaki watched her sister be loaded in a military-esque apc. It seemed pretty cool, like the ones from action movies. Maybe she'd get to ride in it as well.

Suddenly, a man in an overcoat walked up.

"Hey there, little one. Come with me."

Scary. That's what Tatsumaki thought, looking up. Stereotypical glasses, white overcoat, grey hair. But his smile and his eyes, they were nothing but cold.

Maybe, she would get to ride in the cool car though, right? Maybe it was worth it.

Taking the hand, she was led to a separate car, this one a fancy limousine. Inside, a fat man in a black suit welcomed her.

"Woah there, you ok?" Saitama said, interrupting her flashback. Tatsumaki cursed. She didn't notice the tears running down her cheeks.

A calm and reassuring hand patted her head. Taking a rattling breath, Tatsumaki attempted to calm down.

The pats were helping a lot, surprisingly. While it reminded her of her dad, it was a much better display of affection that her dad ever gave her.

Display of affection? What the fuck was she thinking? This was some random stranger she'd met. Albeit a very nice, calming, and reassuring stranger. A stranger nonetheless.

"S-sorry about that. Just, I'd rather not think about the past." She said, not meeting his eyes.

"Ah, my bad. Shouldn't have asked." Saitama said, chugging his drink. Crushing the empty can in his hand, he threw it at a nearby trash can.

"Kobe!" He said, only for the can to bounce off the rim.

"You suck at that." Tatsumaki scoffed, and lifted the can up. She dumped it into the trash, much to the amazement of Saitama.

"What?" Tatsumaki said, taking in Saitama's expression.

"That's still so cool." He said, bringing a flush to Tatsumaki's cheeks.

"T-thanks."

Saitama yawned. "Hey, it's getting pretty late. Where do you live? I'll walk you, or to the nearest police station or something if you're not comfortable."

"Late? It's fucking 1 a.m now." Tatsumaki rolled her eyes.

"Hey hey, I'm just saying. Anyway, let's go." He picked up Fubuki in a sweeping fashion and carried her bridal style.

For some reason, Tatsumaki didn't mind, even though normally she would be killing (or attempting to) whoever would try such a thing.

"Ay, thanks for the noodles man! Sorry for coming so late" Saitama said, waving to the sole worker at the restaurant.

"Ah, it's no biggie. Good night, chief! And good luck on your workout!" The worker said, raising his thumb.

The pair walked out of the store, Fubuki in Saitama's arms. They trudged down the dark sidewalk of the city, dim street lights being their main source of light. They weren't well maintained, and it was pretty common for one of them to start flickering every once in a while.

"Good friends?" Tatsumaki asked, suddenly.

"Ah, that guy? Yeah, me and him go way back. Friends since elementary. One of my only ones." Saitama said.

"That's… sad." Tatsumaki said, though she could understand his plight. Afterall, she had the same situation happen to her, during her elementary school days.

"Eh, I'd prefer a few good friends I can trust over a bunch of friends who I can't." Saitama said, his smile growing a bit smaller.

"So anyway, where do you live?" He asked.

"Uhhh…" Tatsumaki said, not really sure of what to say.

"Oh, I get it. Don't worry, you can stay over at my place."

Tatsumaki stopped dead in her tracks. Stay over with a stranger? No, no, no. No absolute fucking way. But he was so nice to her, so she couldn't flat out deny his offer.

"Uhh, well, it's just that, uhmmmm…" She said, struggling to think of a good answer.

"It's fine. I said I got it already. C'mon, at least let me get some new clothes for you."

How could this man understand her so easily? Tatsumaki prided herself on being able to hide her feelings, yet it was like he was reading them off her sleeve. Years of being forced by the scientists in those wretched labs had made her good at hiding her emotions. If she cried, they increased the drugs. If she grew angry, they increased the voltage. If she smiled, they increased the intensity. Expressionless. That's what they wanted, and that's what they made her.

Well, except for now. Apparently, Saitama was as good as reading emotions as she was at hiding them.

Half an hour later they arrived at his apartment. Tatsumaki was close to dropping, her legs incredibly tired. While she could use her powers to lift herself up, she didn't want to be seen, to be recaptured by the scientists.

"Ah, we're here! My humble abode." Saitama smiled. It was quite humble indeed. A small apartment complex lay out in front of them, only two stories tall. It didn't look the most welcoming, either. The concrete was cracked ,the windows dirty and opaque. The doors were made of metal, which did not bode well with Tatsumaki.

Regardless, she made her way inside, to find a simplistic room with little furniture. A t.v in the corner, some mats on the ground, and a small kitchen. She guessed in an apartment like this, an all in one room (minus the washroom, of course) was necessary.

"Now, where could it be?" Satiama said, rummaging through some cardboard boxes. He had set Fubuki down onto a mat of some sort, where she lay soundly asleep.

"Ah, here we go!" Saitama said, lifting out a small black dress. It was quite the dainty thing, and actually wasn't half bad. The bottom separated in a couple thick straps of cloth, that actually were quite long. Tatsumaki wondered why he would even have such a thing.

"Where… did you get that?" She asked, perplexed.

"This? Uh, I found it while I was jogging, and I couldn't just let such a good piece of clothing go to waste. I thought it was a lot bigger though, but for you it seems like a good fit!"

"Hey, I'm not that small!" Tatsumaki said, but the malice in her words was severely toned down. She couldn't bring herself to snap at him.

She picked up the dress and admired it. It seemed to be clean, and was quite soft. Truly, it had no place in an apartment like this.

"Shower's in the other room. Go and wash up." Saitama said. Fubuki was still asleep. That complicated things. Tatsumaki didn't want to spend the night here, but she couldn't move Fubuki without using her powers, which would only draw attention to her. Shit.

Regardless, she wasn't going to pass up on a shower. Her body was all icky and grimy from weeks of sleeping out in the open, and travelling around.

Tatsumaki stepped out of the shower, her hair back to it's nice curly state, and her body thoroughly clean. She was dressed up in the black dress, and to her surprise the black strips of cloth at the bottom went down to her feet. While it showed a lot of her body, specifically her thighs and a bit of her hips, she couldn't help but admire herself in the mirror. She liked this dress. A lot.

Though, she needed to get out here. Lord knows what Saitama was planning to do when she was asleep.

In her haste, she accidentally tripped.

Satiama caught her, and she sank into his arms. Why were they so soft, and comforting? He was warm. Really warm. She could feel her eyes closing. Oh yeah, it was late in the night. Or you could say early in the morning. No wonder why she was so tired. She nuzzled his chest, desperate to get more of that heavenly warmth.

Her eyes cracked open as she realized what she was doing, but looking up all she saw was Saitama's warm smile, empty of malice. He was the first one to smile at her that way.

And, for some reason, she just couldn't move. She tried pulling back, but her body refused to move. He was so warm and comforting, that she began to fall asleep, the warning bells in her head being ignored. Her eyes slowly closed.

Saitama chuckled as the first snore hit him. Laying Tatsumaki down onto his futon, he flopped backwards onto the hard floor. Whatever, sleeping on hard surfaces was a good thing, right?

Saitama looked over at the sisters. He didn't expect them to stay long, and in fact expected them to be gone before he even woke up. Whatever, though. He helped out some people today, and that had made him happy.

Almost made a friend, too, he thought. Too bad she would be gone the next day.

- Time Skip -

"So, what do you even do for money?" Tatsumaki asked. It had been a week after their fateful encounter, and Tatsumaki seriously was considering making a break for it as soon as she woke up the first day. But something told her to stay, and that was the best sleep she ever had. Even better than her carefree days, when she was young and her parents weren't arseholes, yet.

In fact, she didn't even have nightmares that night. Instead, it was a calm, blissful sleep.

Fubuki was pretty shocked when she woke up, though after some careful explaining she hesitantly agreed to stay.

Then Saitama woke up a couple minutes later, and greeted her well. He didn't mention anything of what transpired the other night, just that he'd met Tatsumaki after beating up the criminal.

Tatsumaki appreciated him for that.

"Ehh, I usually beat up criminals and monsters. Sometimes they have a bounty, so it's a nice reward."

Tatsumaki's eyes widened. So what happened that first night wasn't a one time thing, eh?

"So you're a hero."

"Well, a self proclaimed one, I guess. I used to just be a businessman, but one day I came from a job interview and there was this kid. He was being attacked by a crab monster. At first, I didn't care, but for some reason I wanted to protect the kid. He had so much potential, y'know? So somehow, I killed the crab monster, and that's how my hero business started."

"That's nice of you." Tatsumaki said. She had to respect that this man, with nothing special in particular, was going around and saving people.

Then you look at her, she had this great power, and did jack other than stealing food.

"Ah, it's good training and testing. I do 100 pushups, situps and squats and then a 10km run every day. It's good to see I'm improving."

Tatsumaki raised her eyes at that. Even with her limited understanding, she knew he shouldn't be able to withstand that regimen without breaks. Yet, he said everyday. Perhaps there was something special to him.

Suddenly, a poster flew out of the blue and smacked him the face. Tatsumaki snorted.

"Huh? A reward for a monster?" Saitama said, eyes widening. The poster turned out to be a wanted poster, for some kind of lizard guy that went around robbing convenience stores.

Tatsumaki saw him salivating as he read the reward.

"80000 yen!? That's a lot of money! I can pay the rent!" Saitama said, excited. "C'mon, let's go!"

Huh? He wanted her to come? Well, might as well. Through her weeks surviving with Fubuki, she had honed her powers a little. She had some offensive capabilities. Of course, none of that mattered when you were too paralyzed by fear to focus.

Tatsumaki mentally scolded herself for what happened that night. Though in her defense, she thought Fubuki had died. So, maybe she wasn't so bad.

"Huehuehue, hand over the money!" The lizard man yelled at the cashier. Fear written all over her face, she quickly handed over the money.

"Thanks for the cash!" The lizard monster yelled, tongue slobbering all over the place. He quickly ran out of the store.

"Someone help!" A bystander yelled, though he himself did nothing.

"Stop!" Saitama yelled, tackling the monster. The monster cursed as he fell to the ground. While he was quite humanoid in appearance, his long tongue and green skin easily gave him away.

"Silly human! I, Lizard Dude, am the greatest robber known to all mankind!" He boasted, punching Saitama. Saitama grunted and fell backwards.

Shooting his tongue out, he grabbed Saitama by the neck and lifted him up. The tongue constricted around Saitama's neck slowly choking him. Saitama tried to pry the tongue off but it was far too slimy and tough.

"You ruined my money! And for that, you must pay!" The money bag lay on the ground, covered in spit. Most of the money was drenched in Lizard Dude's disgusting saliva.

"D-dude, you did that y-yourself." Saitama said, choking.

"Shut up! I, the greatest robber, would never ruin my loot!" Lizard Dude said, even though he clearly just did.

"The greatest robber wouldn't have such a stupid name like that." Tatsumaki said, suddenly stepping forward.

"Huh? A little girl? Well, you might make a tasty meal!" Lizard dude said, turning around to face her.

A vein popped on Tatsumaki's forehead. "I'M NOT A GIRL, OR LITTLE!" She yelled. Growling, she shot her arm out.

A green hue surrounded Lizard Dude's body, and his tongue dropped Saitama. Lizard Dude couldn't move.

"H-...how?" Lizard Dude said, stunned.

"Not so little now, huh?" Tatsumaki smirked, floating up to reach his height. Her hand closed into a fist, causing Lizard Dude to scream. His head began to shrink.

He kept screaming out in pain for a couple seconds before his head suddenly exploded, sending his eyeballs and chunks of his head flying everywhere.

"Yuck. Hopefully they take headless corpses as well." Tatsumaki muttered.

"Wow, thanks a lot Tatsumaki!" Saitama said, as they made their way back from the police station.

"Eh, it was nothing." Tatsumaki shrugged, though pride ran through her body. She didn't actually expect to do that either, she was just planning on getting the Lizard Dude to drop Saitama. Turns out she was a lot more powerful than she thought. That knowledge gave her confidence.

"Nothing? That was so cool! You made his head explode!" Satiama said, grinning.

"Ahhh, whatever. Thanks." Tatsumaki said, though her face was flushed red with his praise.

She watched him count the money for the 5th time, chuckling to herself. Well, they would definitely eat something nice tonight.

"Onee chan!" Fubuki called, running out to greet them. Tatsumaki was surprised. Usually, she just stayed indoors. Something happened.

"That's a bummer." Saitama said, as they soaked in the news. It showed footage of a burning car crash.

"And while medics and firefighters are on the scene, the only people managed to be rescued came from the other car. The bodies found from the limo were burnt to a crisp." The news lady said solemnly.

"Fubuki, look away." Tatsumaki commanded, as it zoomed in on the burnt corpses.

"W-what!? I'm not fragile!" Fubuki yelled. "I can watch!"

"Shhhhh. I wanna hear what they're saying." Saitama said, putting his finger to his lips. Tatsumaki was about the retort when words rang out in her ears that she'd never thought she'd hear again.

"Unfortunately, these bodies were identified to be none other than Mrs. and Mr. Senritsu, who were influential millionaires. The spokesperson for their company, Senritsu Imports, has made a statement.

Tatsumaki ignored the rest of what the news lady was saying. Her parents were dead. She wasn't sure if she was happy, sad, or didn't care. They deserved that car crash, deserved being burnt to a crisp. But knowing that Fubuki now was her only family in this harsh world…

"Well, that's good." Saitama suddenly said.

"Huh!?" Fubuki and Tatsumaki both said, shocked. Fubuki choked on the glass of water she was drinking. He was glad their parents died?

"Well, don't take it that way. But they treated you guys pretty poorly, right?"

Both esper sisters nodded.

"And they were rich?"

Both esper sisters nodded again.

"Well, they probably have a will somewhere, with you guys on it. So maybe you'd get to inherit their riches."

Fubuki and Tatsumaki looked at each other with widened eyes. Holy shit.

- Time Skip -

"So Fubuki's finalizing it, eh?" Saitama said, walking down the street with Tatsumaki floating with him. With Fubuki going to the funeral and being recognized on the will, there was no point hiding anymore. Plus, with the money they got from beating the Lizard Dude, they managed to get a nice dress for Fubuki so she didn't look like she had spent over a decade being experimented on.

Soon, Tatsumaki's life would change, as her parent's wealth would be transferred to the two sisters. Though, she wasn't sure what they would do.

"Yeah. I'm not too savvy in the business side of things." Tatsumaki shrugged, lifting a pebble with her powers. It had been two months since they first met, and both of them trained together every day. While Saitama jogged and did his physical exercise, Tatsumaki focused on improving her psychic abilities. She had seen drastic change, getting immensely more powerful every day. Now, exploding a monster's head was baby food for her. Perhaps that was the silver lining from all the experiments she partook in.

"Grahhhh! Give all your money to me, or I, Rambunctious Rabbit, will cleave you in half!" A giant rabbit said, hopping out of an alleyway suddenly.

"I wanted to be a rabbit so badly I turned into one! And now I have this giant carrot to boot!" The rabbit monster said, waving around a carrot sword.

"Lemme take care-" Tatsumaki was cut off by the look on Saitama's face. He had a crazed look, with drool coming out of one side of his mouth.

"I thought I recognized you somewhere! You're on one of the wanted posters!" Saitama said, grinning.

"Eh?" The rabbit monster said, raising a big eyebrow. Tatsumaki chuckled at the scene that was about to unfold.

The poor rabbit monster didn't even know what hit him as Saitama pounced on him, snatching the massive carrot sword from his grasp.

"Hahaha! The reward money will be mine!" Saitama said, eyes filled with determination and fire as he cleaved off the rabbit's arm with one big swing.

Saitama swung again but this time the rabbit grabbed the sword, and with one swift kick to the stomach, launched Saitama back into a wall. The wall was cratered from the force, but thankfully Saitama's training appeared to be having an effect. Saitama gasped in pain but quickly got up, wiping some blood from his mouth. "Glad you can fight back, I need some combat training anyway."

"You fool!" Boomed the rabbit, though his voice was shaky. "I am the Rambunctious Rabbit! Though I am strong and powerful, my reward isn't even that much! It's only 200000 yen!"

"200000 yen!? That's more than I remember what the poster said!" Saitama said, his grin growing even wider.

The rabbit paled. Shit.

Tatsumaki shook her head as she watched Saitama beat the living hell of the rabbit monster.

Never change, Saitama. Tatsumaki smiled inwardly.

"Wooo! I'm rich!" Saitama said, grinning like an idiot. He pumped his fist a couple times in the air, celebrating another month of paid rent.

Tatsumaki just rolled her eyes at her friend's antics.

Wait. Friend. She just called him a friend.

She never really had a friend. Even in elementary school, she was regarded as a freak. Green hair, esp powers. They all called her a witch. And by extension, Fubuki too. They bullied her, and Tatsumaki had to defend Fubuki all the time. Fubuki didn't want to fight back, but Tatsumaki did.

She beat up bullies with her immense psychic power. The teachers all hated her, or more accurately, feared her, even though she was the top of every class.

"Hahaha, the witch dropped her book!" A crowd of people surrounded her, jeering and pointing.

"Why don't you just use your mind to pick it up? Huh?"

"Maybe it's cause she doesn't have one! She's just a cheat!"

Tatsumaki clenched her fists, staring at the ground. She was trying. Really. Trying to control herself and her powers. But when people do this… how in the hell was she supposed to take it lying down?

"What's wrong?" Thomas, the bully who had tripped her, sneered.

Tatsumaki's fists balled up.

"Gonna cry?" Thomas said, leaning in closer. Normally, he would be too scared to do this kind of thing, but he felt emboldened by the crowd.

Tatsumaki remained silent.

"Not gonna respond? That's fine. Maybe your sister will scream when I fuck her. Damn, that girl's got nice tits."

Thomas's eyes widened as suddenly, an invisible force gripped his neck, lifting him up in the air. The force tightened as it began to choke him.

Thomas's legs flailed usually in the air, his hands wrapped around his neck in an attempt to alleviate the phantom choking.

"H-Hel- Gurk! She's choking-"

"What's wrong?" Tatsumaki said, looking up. Her face was full of anger, and Thomas could feel her eyes melting through him. He felt like he was burning up.

Wait. Looking down, he realised he literally was being burned.

"GAaaaAHAHHHHH!" Thomas screamed, as his skin was set alight. He thrashed around widely in the air, but Tatsumaki's psychic power held him tightly.

"Gonna cry?" Tatsumaki mocked.

Thomas sobbed, tears going down his cheeks as he realised he could very well die in this situation. The pain was becoming unbearable.

"Hah. Expect as much from someone like you." Tatsumaki said.

"NOW, WHO'S NEXT, HUH? WHO WANTS TO FUCKING TRIP ME? HUH? C'MON, YOU WERE ALL SO EAGER IN THE BEGINNING! WHO WANTS TO FIGHT?" Tatsumaki turned around, screaming. Her eyes blazed with pure anger.

Half the crowd had fled already, while the other half sat there dumbly, paralyzed by fear. One of them even pissed himself.

Tatsumaki dropped Thomas and he fell to the floor curled up in a ball, sobbing. The fire had subsided, but there were two nasty burn marks on his chest.

After that, no one bothered with Tatsumaki, or even interacted with her. That was fine. She didn't need anyone, other than her sister.

Tatsumaki was scolded by the teachers and given detention for the rest of the school year. That was fine. She could study in the meanwhile. Knowledge is power.

Tatsumaki would graduate at the top of the school by a huge margin, yet when she came onto the stage to accept her awards, not a single person clapped, even her sister.

"Hey Tats, I was thinking, isn't it your birthday?"

"Huh?" Tatsumaki said, shaking her head.

"I said, isn't it your birthday? Why don't I treat you to something?" Saitama said.

"My… birthday? Really?... Hey! I told you not to call me that!" Tatsumaki didn't really keep track of her birthday. After all, she didn't need to - or get to, in the 10+ years she spent in that cursed laboratory.

"Sheesh, sorry Tats. Anyway, Fubuki told me it was your birthday today."

Of course, Fubuki would remember something like that. Tatsumaki smiled inwardly, thanking her sister.

"Oi! I thought I told you not to call me that!" Tatsumaki said, processing the sentence. She threw a pebble at Saitama's face, bouncing harmlessly off his forehead.

"Ow. Well, anyway, there's a circus nearby. Maybe we could go get some treats?"

"... Sure. Never really got to experience one."

"Woah, really? I know this one, they have the best caramel apples."

"Never had one."

"Well, there's a first for everything. Like being called Tats."

"Hey! What was I saying!?" Tatsumaki yelled. Saitama sheepishly scratched his head, wearing a shit eating grin.

Tatsumaki sighed. He never gave up, huh? Too bad she couldn't force herself to say it with any anger, though. That's probably why he kept pushing.

"Well, I mean, what's the point of having friends if you can't give each other nicknames?" Saitama said, with a raised eyebrow.

Friends. Huh, that funny word again. Though, if she could call Saitama a friend… perhaps that wouldn't be that bad.

"Saitama… are we friends?"

"Uh, yes? Aren't we good friends? Why? What's wrong?"

"... nothing."

Tatsumaki closely scrutinized Saitama. Relaxed, nice, honest… the list of good attributes went on and on. She felt happy, content, even at peace, just being near him. Sure, he had his downsides. But to call him a friend, and to be her first… Not bad. Not bad at all.