I don't own One-Punch Man
(All of this Belongs to the one and only: ONE)
Chapter 12: Attention Getters
A Champion's Challenge
At the Entrance of the Arena...
Eagerness
Something that covered Saitama's being as he came across the entrance of the Arena. Clad in his yellow hero suit, Saitama found himself smiling faintly as he was thinking about what might happen in today's match. Saitama had a hunch that this fight might be a bit different than the one he had yesterday, and for this reason only, he hoped his hunch was right. Feelings of excitement soon welled up from within him, albeit small and quivering, but the fact that there was some sort of feeling at all, made him smile ever so wider. Thoughts of these and more plagued him to no end, failing to take notice of King, Genos, and Bang coming up from behind him.
"Yo, Saitama-bro, you good?" King asked Saitama, placing a rough hand on his shoulder, jolting Saitama back into reality.
"O-Oh! Hey guys, sorry about that, kinda lost myself in thought back, or something…" Saitama said with an awkward smile, facing towards them, rubbing the back of his head with a gloved hand.
"I see Sensei is feeling a bit anxious, hmm?" Genos chided in with calculating eyes, earning him a gloved hand to his head, roughing up his hair gently.
"You got that right." Saitama said with an honest smile, feeling a little embarrassed that he feeling something like anxiousness.
"Do not focus too heavily of what might the future hold. Simply focus on what is at hand, and you shall find the answer naturally." Bang said with a stern voice, patting Saitama's back heartily, instantly calming his nerves.
"Yea bro, just relax, you're gonna do fine. Besides, everyone else is in the Arena." King added in, starting to walk towards the Arena entrance, soon followed by everyone else. Saitama walked slow and steady, feeling very good about himself in that moment. He wouldn't say it openly, but he really couldn't thank these people enough for calming him down, especially before a fight no less.
Inside the Arena Lobby…
Saitama was the last one to enter the Arena, getting tackled by a deranged esper who quickly took residences on his shoulders.
"Tats, please…" Saitama begged Tatsumaki, rubbing his head in frustration.
"Nope, this is my permanent seat, baldy." Tatsumaki said plainly, squeezing her thighs unconsciously on Saitama's head. Saitama could only shake his head smiling, despite Tatsumaki's ridiculousness.
Saitama was then brought out of his thinking when he heard arguing. He moved his head upwards, now seeing a pissed off Genos, arms crossed and facing the wall, and a silent Fubuki, walking hurriedly towards his direction. Saitama felt a bead of sweat fall, bracing himself for the yelling that was about to hit him.
"Saitama! Tell Genos to get over it already! I mean how can one person be so childish over such trivial matters?!" Fubuki shouted at Saitama, a pout on her face, with Saitama now walking over towards Genos, still staring towards the wall before him.
"Oi, Genos, what the hell man? Why're you being so difficult now? It's been a day already, get over it…" Saitama said in a stern voice at Genos, only to be answered by his back, silence in the air. A few seconds passed, before Genos swiftly turned around, with a blush on his face.
"B-But she called me a robotic maid!" Genos cried out towards Saitama, feeling very insecure about the comment that Fubuki said the night prior. Genos then whirled back to the wall, too embarrassed to keep eye contact with Saitama. Tatsumaki was snickering the whole time, while Saitama reminisced about what happened during that time.
Arena Parking Lot: Last Night…
It hadn't crossed Saitama's mind on how he was supposed to go back home when he left the Arena, and it only hit him once he was about half way out, onto the near empty parking lot, that he had no real way of going back home. He sighed deeply, scratching his chin defeatedly, while trying to think of a way to get back towards his apartment with so many people. He would've gladly asked someone in his group for some suggestions, but considering he was way ahead from the rest of them at the moment, that idea went out the window. Funnily enough, however, there was still one person that was with him. Tatsumaki, who was still on his shoulders at the time, picked up on his predicament, and did not waste her chance on this opportunity to impress him. As to why she wanted to impress him, she internally answered herself with a dark red face, and a shrug of ignorance.
"B-Baldy, it seems like you don't have a way back home, r-right? How d-dumb can a person b-be?" Tatsumaki tried to sound snarky, but it came off more like cute complaining.
"Yup, I sure messed up that one, huh?" Saitama said with a carefree face, chuckling lightly as he did, making Tatsumaki blush heavily.
""W-Well, i-if you want, I-I can fly us towards you're place…" Tatsumaki said quietly, too embarrassed to look at Saitama. She was then answered by Saitama looking up at her with a raised eyebrow, and a questioning look, wondering if she could actually do that.
"I-It's not like I-I want to d-do it for you, or anything, b-baldy…" Tatsumaki said with a hushed tone, her head buried within Saitama's, hoping he wouldn't see her face, though Saitama felt the warmth from her face.
"You're actually going insane, Tatsumaki! What the hell are you doing?!" Tatsumaki screamed at herself, wondering what had come over her to help Saitama all of a sudden. She was then answered immediately by him with a shake of one of her legs.
"Thanks for the offer, but I gotta say no. I'll try to find a way where we could all go together. It would kinda be a dick move if I left the rest of the guys here, wouldn't it?" Saitama reasoned out with an honest smile, stroking one of Tatsumaki's legs to calm her down, which it did by bounds.
"What's with this baldy's touch? It always comforts me to no end, why? Why do I always feel like this with you, baldy?" Tatsumaki said to herself, a light pink blush on her face, feeling happier as she kept thinking about Saitama, breaking out in a small smile, in spite of herself.
"I-If that's how it is, then I guess i-it's ok, b-baldy…" Tatsumaki responded, her voice sounding tired, but contented. Soon her eyes started to feel heavy, and with Saitama's constant stroking, she fell asleep, for the Nth time today, feeling happy as she dreamed about the guy she was riding on.
Saitama kept walking the length of the parking lot at a slow pace, sighing when he heard Tatsumaki's tiny snores. Feeling like there no other option, Saitama simply waited for the rest of his group to appear, which in about 5 minutes, everyone came jogging out towards him
"B-Boss, y-*(Deep Breath) you r-really need to wait a minute, w-will ya?!" Styles said angrily in between breathes, one of his arms at his sides, trying to keep himself from throwing up.
"Hmph, this is nothing for me, youngster." Bang said eagerly, as he gingerly walked with his hands behind his back, not looking one bit tired.
"The same could be said for me." Genos came soon after, walking the distance with ease.
"Styles, bro, you really need to work on your endurance, man." King said soon after, as he was slightly jogging towards the group.
"Even for a human, this should be easy for you." Ava said, coming next after King, her legs making gentle whirring sounds when she stopped jogging.
"Don't waste your time with this guy, Saitama. He's so boarish with the way he talks, and acts." Fubuki said with a smug smirk, elegantly walking up, the last one to come to the group.
"Hey, that's kinda funny, coming from the dame that just got here." Styles said with an even bigger smirk than Fubuki's, still holding his sides, causing her to aim a glowing green hand towards him.
"Oi, just because I stated the obvious, don't mean you can get snippy with me, toots." Styles said tiredly, still holding an arm by his side, taking in deep breaths. Everyone laughed hard from his sass, while Fubuki could only blush at his bluntness, lowering her hand in embarrassment.
Watching all of the people laughing together made Saitama smile a stupid smile, and before he could smile anymore, he walked up towards Styles, tapping his shoulder lightly.
"Yo Styles, think you can give all of us a lift back home?" Saitama asked with a slackened face, placing both hands in his pockets.
"Don't have a car, huh? What, too poor?" Styles said snicker, getting an annoyed look from Saitama.
"Cars are too freaking expensive! Where a car can drive to, I can simply walk there, not to mention I don't have to park my legs in special plac-." Saitama listed out, making exaggerated body motions as he did so, getting a sideways look from Styles.
"Then why'd ya ask me for a ride, ey boss? If you like walking so much, walk home." Styles said with a laugh, getting Saitama even more annoyed.
"Oi Styles, don't mess with m-" Saitama was about to finish, when he heard a loud van honk in the distance. He then turned towards Styles, who wore an honest smile.
"I'm just messing with ya, boss. 'Course I'll give you a ride." Styles said, still smiling, holding a fist towards Saitama, which was pounded lightly.
"Thanks man, I owe you one." Saitama said towards Styles, beckoning everyone else in the background to come towards Styles van.
"Shut up Boss, I'm your assistant, remember? It's my job to take care of the little things when it comes to you. 'Sides, ain't like I got anything else to do, y'know?" Styles said plainly, wondering why Saitama was still acting so bashful with this kind of stuff.
"Right, my bad." Saitama said with a chuckle, a hand rubbing the side of his head, mindful not to wake up Tatsumaki, who was still sleeping on his head.
Everyone looked over towards Styles's van, which had a dark grey color, dimly reflecting the parking lot lights, while sporting five rows of passenger sits. His van was large, very large, so large it had enough space to fit everyone inside, and still have plenty of room to spare. It had a welcoming interior, with sleek black leather covering the seats, and the smell of vintage vinyl filled every inch of the car. Small monitors were on the backs of every seat, and small glove boxes filled with ice were scattered about strategically around the van, all having a variety of soda, beer, and wine. To sum it up nicely, the van was like a limo on steroids.
Fubuki sat with King and Genos in the third row seats, while Bang and Ava sat in the seats that were behind the driver's seat. Styles took the wheel, while Saitama sat in the passenger's seat, lowering it enough so Tatsumaki could still be on his shoulders. Styles started up the van, and with a few seconds of engine revving, Styles drove out of the Arena parking lot, and set out towards Saitama's apartment, everyone in the van engaging in conversation.
Saitama sat in Style's van with a sigh, his head resting in his hand, making a mental note to repay him for giving him a ride in the first place, along with everyone else that came with him. Street lights dimly shine the van in the dark, as Styles made his Saitama's apartment, exhausted from all the banter that everyone was having in the car.
At the same time, King pulled out a small game system from his pink knapsack, eyeing Genos and Fubuki as did so, hooking it up to the one of the small monitors in front of him.
"Hey Styles, bro, can I use one of the monitors back here?" King asked Styles, as he was hooking up the game system.
"It's there for a reason, ain't it? Go for it." Styles said easily, his eyes never leaving the road in front of him, getting a smile from King. King finished up hooking up the system, and then turned towards Genos and Fubuki, his voice a soft, low rumble.
"Hey, Genos, care to go for a few rounds? You can join in as well, Ms. Blizzard of Hell." King said, handing Genos a controller from his knapsack, while offering another towards Fubuki.
"U-Um, sure? I'm not really good at these kinds of things, or anything…" Fubuki said embarrassingly, her hands shaking slightly as she was given a controller. King only smiled, and let Fubuki know he would be going easy, and with that, the game started, with a bright eyed Fubuki playing with smile on her face.
Ava and Bang, in the meantime, were having a nice conversation about how their day went, what they've done prior to the Arena event, and simply about life, and their lives in general.
"Miss Ava, may I ask about how you came to work in such a large facility? Such a place is not fit for a fine, young woman like yourself." Bang inquired with a raised eyebrow, heavily curious as to why such a woman would work in an Arena setting.
"W-Well, Mr. Silverfang sir, aside from being assigned to work as an elevator operator, due to the incident several years back, I work in the Arena for a personal reasons. Reasons I don't feel like saying at the moment." Ava answered truthfully with a furrowed brow, trying to look happy, though Bang caught on very quickly that she was feeling much discomfort from such questions, and answered accordingly.
"I see, well then, I apologize for being so forceful about such matters. To think I would ask such personal question to begin with… I am reaching an age where manners may not be so keen to me anymore, and for that, I apologize." Bang said with a sad tone, looking solemn as he spoke.
"N-No! Y-you don't have to apologize at a-all! I-It's my fault for a-answering so brazenly!" Ava frantically stated, small tears welling up in her eyes as she tried desperately to cheer up Bang.
"Oh nonsense, Miss Ava, I am the one that needs to take heed in what needs to be said. No need to feel sorry about this old man's feelings, let alone his thoughts." Bang replied back to Ava, his tone was solid and reassuring, making Ava calm down a bit.
"O-Ok then…" Ava said sheepishly, still worrying about the old hero's feelings. The two of them sat there in contemplative silence, reflecting on how they acted in the situation prior. After about a couple of minutes of silence, Bang decided to poke some fun at the womanly cyborg, to try and clear the heavy mood. So with a serious face, he asked Ava another question.
"On another matter, Miss Ava, how do you feel about our friend Saitama, hmm?" Bang spoke in a matter-of-factly voice, keeping an observant eye on Ava as he spoke. Bang knew that such a question would pose high interest in Ava, and he wasn't wrong, since Ava began to shake in her seat a bit.
"O-Oh, u-um that g-guy? Y-Yeah, h-he's a bit s-strange, but r-really cool at the same time…" Ava said lamely, her eyes wandered as she spoke, trying to look at anything besides Bang. She knew Saitama had made her feel all types of good, and to say anything else about him would make her start thinking things that fall into weird territory.
"Hmm, I must agree, Miss Ava, I also think that Saitama is man of high caliber. Not only is he very kind, he also possess a heart of gold, and a mind as clear as the skies above us. I can safely say for everyone here, without any hesitation, that Saitama is a good, no, a great friend, and man, period." Bang said with such sincerity, it made Ava blush slightly, making a mental note on how Saitama is seen amongst all of the heroes within her proximity. She instinctively looked over towards Saitama's way, only to glance at him laughing at one of Styles's jokes, making her feel all funny on the inside. Yes, this man was a good friend, even though she's only known him for a day.
"Yes, Saitama is a man of great interest to many people, as of late at least. But that begs the question however, how do you feel when another woman were to occupy his life, hmm?" Bang said in a very subtle, sly voice, his old face slowly creeping into a small smile as he saw Ava's expression harden.
"What do you mean by that, Mr. Silverfang?" Ava said with a hint a fire in her voice, making Bang sweat slightly internally. Steeling himself from the Ava's rising fury, Bang pressed on with his question.
"What I mean to say is that, with all of these young women that surround him, I would not be surprised if one of them were to be in a relationship with him. A relationship that goes beyond that of being friends. I simply ask how does that make you feel if Saitama were to be in one of those relationships?" Bang said with curiosity, having an expectant feeling for some reason. What he didn't expect was Ava's answer.
"Hmph, questions like that shouldn't be asked so lightly, Mr. Silverfang." Ava answered promptly, a visible frown on her face, a faint, greyish red aura surrounding her. Bang only tilted his head in a gentle manner to the left, as to give the sign to Ava that he would stop talking in general.
"Well, if we're done talking, I would like to say that it was nice talking to you, Mr. Silverfang." Ava said, her tone taking on a much lighter side, making Bang face her once more.
"I could say the same, Miss Ava. Thank you for entertaining an old man like me." Bang said smiling, getting a smile back from Ava.
As Bang and Ava were finishing up their conversation, Genos and Fubuki were the still playing on the game system. King managed to lose to Fubuki in the early rounds, the reason being a lucky item appearing at just the right time, leaving a fired up Genos and Fubuki in the final stretch. King laughed during the whole time, seeing as how quickly Fubuki managed to pick up on all the basics of the game, while managing to compete with Genos, of all people. As time passed, and a multitude of death screens were seen, The fight grew more intense. More than once were a few insults shouted between each other, and in return, more insults were thrown back. King sat there, laughing at the both of them, becoming so engrossed in the game, that they failed to see that the van had already made it to Saitama's apartment.
Saitama's Apartment...
When Styles and Saitama opened up their doors, King came up from his seat, and turned off the game system, causing the two heroes to stare at him with deadly eyes, which he then returned with a signature King face of his own, causing Fubuki to quiver, and instantly shut up, while making Genos stay silent, but pissed off. When King was satisfied with both of their answers, he started packing up the system. Once he was done, he opened up the van door, and stepped out, taking breath of air, while getting a good look at Saitama's apartment.
"Hmm, gotta start heading home now. Tsch, Dark as hell though, Maybe Saitama-bro would let me stay the night." King said to himself, as he did a few stretches.
As King stepped out of the van, he was followed by a pissed off esper, and an equally pissed off cyborg, who were having an intense shouting match right at the moment.
"Please, you're just unbelievably lucky to have those items next to you, that's all." Genos said plainly, he eyes rolling slowly as he spoke.
"Hmm, I didn't know that having lucky items could make me win 5 times in row, huh?" Fubuki answered back with a big grin, making Genos blush red all over.
"Enough! Then tell me, what happened when I tied your winning streak? Hmm?!" Genos asked back, now flipping the blush on Fubuki.
"I-I'm new to these types of things! The fact that you're even complaining about me winning over you, proves that you're just that bad!" Fubuki said with quiet shout, all to be answered back with silence from a Genos with an even redder face now. After a few seconds of thinking of a comeback, Genos yelled out.
"W-Well at least I don't daydream about Sensei for inappropriate periods of time!" Genos finally shouted back, knowing that it was the only thing he could come up with on the spot. This made Fubuki spit profusely at the ground, her face feeling hotter than the winning streak she was having on Genos earlier.
"I-I-I-I don't think a-about Saitama like t-that!" Fubuki quickly responded back, her face taking on the appearance of a lighter.
"A-And besides, At least I don't act like a robotic maid for his supposed S-Sensei!" Fubuki answered back defiantly, flooring Genos where he stood, his face now bright red.
"I-I-I'm not a m-maid to S-Sensei!" Genos fired back, completely self conscious about Fubuki's comment.
Both of them kept at with their fighting, only to be interrupted by Bang and Ava, who were the last people to step out of the van. With a furrowed brow, and a stern face, Bang had the decency to stop Genos and Fubuki from fighting.
"That is quite enough! Both of you, do you have any idea what time is it right now? You are disrupting the sleep of many people here tonight, so I implore you both that you stop such childish antics this instant." Bang said with his hands folded behind him, his face never changing. King nodded in agreement, admitting internally that both Genos's, and Fubuki's shouting were getting a bit too loud for any comedic value to be taken from it.
Ava just stood there, watching silently as Fubuki and Genos were getting scolded by Bang. It took a lot of willpower to not laugh in this situation, but she managed to keep together.
"He's right, you guys have been shouting for awhile now, I think you two should give each other some space. I don't wanna hear any complaints from my neighbors, and especially not at night, of all times." Saitama chimed in as he walked over towards Bang, crossing his arms as he stood idly him. Saitama wasn't going to have any sass from his neighbors at anytime, and to hear Bang address what was on his mind made him add a few words himself to Bang's scolding. Weirdly enough, Tatsumaki was still sleeping soundly on Saitama's head, even though there was loud shouting happening for a solid minute.
Both Fubuki and Genos immediately shut their mouths as soon as they heard Saitama and Bang speak, feeling a wave of shame flood them as they did so.
"I-I'm s-sorry for such carelessness, Sensei! Please, punish me accordingly for committing such an inconvenience to you!" Genos said while rushing towards Saitama's direction, bowing his head before him in a comedic fashion, his head touching the ground.
"*(Sigh) Genos, just stop it dude. All I'm asking is that you, and Fubuki, keep your voices down. You know, just as much as me, how annoying my neighbors are." Saitama said with a defeated sigh, now walking towards his front door, Styles trailing him as he did so.
"Yo Styles, think you can give the others a ride to their places?" Saitama asked as he was picking out his house key from pocket, mindful not to bother Tatsumaki, as she was still sleeping on him.
"Sure thing Boss, anything else ya need me to do?" Styles said questionly, turning towards his van.
"Nah, thanks again man, I owe you one." Saitama said, waving a free hand towards Styles, as he unlocked his front door.
"Boss, it's my job, so it's no problem, ya jackass!" Styles said with a smile, waving his hand towards the rest of Saitama's group, signaling them that he was offering rides.
"Oh, I'm bunking here with Saitama-bro for the night, Styles." King said when he saw Styles wave a hand towards him, which was answered back with a nod. Styles then walked over to Bang's direction, waving a hand towards him.
"Hmm? Oh, I am taking residence with Saitama tonight as well, Styles. Sorry for the inconvenience, youngster." Bang said with an apologetic smile, with Styles answering back with two raised hands to say that it wasn't no big deal. Styles then moved to Ava, waving a hand again.
"Oh, um, I-I was thinking of sleeping over at Saitama's place tonight…" Ava said sheepishly, tapping her two index fingers together as she spoke. Styles only smiled, and moved over towards Fubuki.
"I greatly appreciate the offer for a ride home, thank you, Styles." Fubuki said kindly, only to be answered with an eye roll from Styles.
"Yea, yea, whatever toots. Look, I wanna go home, so can we just leave already? What with all of your yelling, I was half 'cepting ya to yell at me, or something along those lines by now." Styles said with a big smirk, making Fubuki's face turn redder by the second.
"E-Excuse me?! Who are yo-" Was all Fubuki could say, before seeing Styles enter the driver's seat of the car, while honking his horn to let Fubuki know that he was ready to leave. Fubuki could only stutter, before looking over towards Saitama, and waving as fast as she could. Saitama causally waved back, causing Fubuki's body to quake slightly. Styles wasn't having any more of it from Fubuki, and honked his horn a couple more times, making Fubuki curse silently under her breath.
Once Fubuki entered Styles's van, and seeing the van driving off into the distance, Saitama finally entered his apartment, followed by a small group of people. With a shrug, Saitama welcomed each guest, making them take off their shoes, and guiding them towards the living area, implying to have a seat on the couch, or anywhere in general. Saitama knew that King and Bang were going to sleeping over, no doubt about it, but was surprised that Ava was still here. He had no idea what Ava wanted to do, so he walked over towards her.
"Hey, Ava, you sleeping over tonight, or something?" Saitama asked casually, not noticing Ava's face steaming.
"I-I-If t-that's ok with you! I've n-never slept over at a f-friend's house before, so…" Ava was about to finish, only to interrupted by one of Saitama's free hands in the air.
"Sure thing, I'm fine with you staying the night. Not like these guys here have a problem with it, right?" Saitama said in the open air, looking at everyone to see if they had anything to say about the situation. Everyone shook their head, making Saitama feel satisfied with their answer, turing back to Ava.
"See? You'll be fine with everyone here, just don't be a bother, and we should get along fine. That's all I got to say at least." Saitama said with a carefree face, now turning his attention towards King.
"You're sleeping on the couch this time, King. You cool with that?" Saitama asked, being answered back with a thumbs up from King.
"As long as I can leave the TV on while I sleep, I'm fine with it." King said, getting the "OK" from Saitama.
"Genos, mind sharing the couch with King tonight?" Saitama then asked Genos, which he then replied rather quickly.
"If that is what you need of me, then I'll do it with no hesitation, Sensei!" Genos answered back excitedly, getting up from the couch, and walking over to his room to get extra blankets and pillows.
"Bang, Genos's taking the living room this time, so you can take his room tonight, if that's fine by you." Saitama said towards Bang, his answer being a raised hand towards him, telling him that it was fine.
"Alright, well that takes care of everyone. Ok Ava, the guest rooms' open now, so you can just sleep in there, alright? If you need anything else from me, just knock on my door." Saitama said easily to Ava, as he made his way to his room, with a Tatsumaki still sleeping on his head.
"Night, Saitama-bro." King said in the distance, turning on the TV, while Genos was setting up his side of the couch.
"Yes, Goodnight Sensei, we'll see you in the morning." Genos said with King, as he wrestled the remote from him as he did so.
"Well, I will see all of you in the morning, goodnight to all of you." Bang said with a light yawn, as he walked into his guest room, his hands folded neatly behind his back.
"U-Um, g-goodnight everyone, y-you too, S-Saitama…" Ava said meekly, while hurriedly jogging towards her room, closing the door quietly as she entered the room.
After Saitama watched everyone get into their respective places the night, nodding as everyone got settled in for the night. He yawned loudly soon after, walking over towards his own room. Feeling exhausted, Saitama walked a few steps, spotting his room's door in front of him. Without a second thought, he opened door, taking in the beauty that was his room. His room was as plain as it could get, with the walls being bare, and painted white. A modest looking TV was placed on a stand that stood by the wall, with a game system underneath, and a window just above it. A small, light brown coffee table was centered in the room, with a couple of remotes and game controllers on it. The floor was all carpet, soft and spotless, while his bed was looking very inviting, with the pillows laid out, and the sheets pulled back, thanks to Genos. Yes, his room always made him take a welcomed breath of air whenever he went in, even though it was like any other room in his apartment.
Saitama walked inside with a smile, and made his way over to his full body mirror on the wall. He looked at his reflection with tired eyes, making lame poses as he did so. As he was looking at his reflection, however, he felt something was weird, like there was something off in his own reflection. It took him a couple of seconds of staring, before realizing that Tatsumaki was still sleeping on his head, her face painted with a contented smile. Saitama sighed, and gently woke up Tatsumaki by shaking one of her legs, hoping that she wouldn't be a pain when she would wake up.
"H-Hmm? *(Yawn) What now b-baldy?" Tatsumaki said tiredly, rubbing her eyes and speaking in between yawns. She wondered why Saitama was waking her up now, of all times.
"Um, I'm just waking you up to let you know that we got to my apartment a few minutes ago, and that we're in my room right now." Saitama said calmly, bracing himself for the yelling.
Tatsumaki couldn't believe it at first, considering she was asleep for the whole time up until now, but after a few moments of thinking, she broke out in a dark red blush. She realized that she was in Saitama's room, and as a couple more moments passed, Tatsumaki flew off Saitama's shoulders. She then landed on the floor feet first, next to the coffee table, facing away from Saitama, embarrassment completely covering her face.
"U-Um, w-why am I here, b-baldy?" Tatsumaki said softly, eventually turning her head towards Saitama's way, her face now giving off a cute, flustered expression.
"Well, while you were sleeping, Styles managed to give everyone a ride to my place. After he dropped us off, he took your sister to her place, and now we're here." Saitama said easily, walking over towards his closet to pull out a spare futon.
"O-Oh, so that's what happened…" Tatsumaki said, understanding the situation, relieved (but ashamedly disappointed for some reason…) that Saitama didn't do anything weird to her while she was sleeping.
"I didn't take you for a heavy sleeper, Tats. You've been kinda sleeping on me for the better part of the day." Saitama said, laughing as he laid out the futon on the floor, next to his bed. Tatsumaki's blush only grew, as she heard a weird nickname coming from Saitama.
"T-Tats?! Who said you could call me that?!" Tatsumaki yelled out, making Saitama scratch his head.
"Oi, shut up Tats, my neighbors are a bit on the rough side around this time at night, so could you not yell right now, please?" Saitama reasoned out, hoping his neighbors didn't hear Tatsumaki's yelling.
"B-Bu-" Was all Tatsumaki could say, before watching Saitama walk over towards her briskly, crouching at her height and sticking out his hand as he did so.
"U-Um, b-baldy? What are you doing?" Tatsumaki whispered expectantly, her face looking very pink, while her heart was beating faster than a plane taking flight for some reason.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm just gonna give you my bed for the night, if you're gonna sleep here that is." Saitama said with deadpan look, his hand reaching past Tatsumaki, going for the TV remote on the coffee table next to her.
Tatsumaki watched dumbfoundedly as Saitama turned on the TV, flipping to the news channel, and walking back towards the futon he laid out. He laid back on it on his side, while propping up his head with his right arm. He yawned loudly, and watched the news, to see if anything was happening in the outside world. Tatsumaki huffed silently, feeling heavy disappointment again, and flew over towards Saitama's bed. Saitama was nice enough to prepare the bed for her, which made Tatsumaki blush softly, and laid down on it.
"S-So this is w-where that baldy sleeps, h-huh?" Tatsumaki thought to herself, as she laid down on it, slowing sinking into the bed.
Once her body settled, Tatsumaki was tempted to pull the blankets up, and after much internal deliberation, quickly skrited the blanket over her head. What Tatsumaki was considering next made her blush darken quickly, as she wanted to breathe in Saitama's pillow, so she did. Feeling absolutely weak, Tatsumaki found herself quietly moaning, remembering how comfortable Saitama's shoulders and head was.
"Oi Tats, stop making weird noises. Are you hungry, or something?" Saitama called out, his face still watching the TV. The only answer he got back was more weird moaning, so he just ignored it and focused on the TV.
"W-Well, his bed isn't bad either…" Tatsumaki said to herself with a smile, her eyes getting heavy again, starting to dream again.
Once Saitama heard Tatsumaki light snoring, he quietly turned off the TV. He then stood up, and prepared his own futon for bed. After he was done setting his futon, Saitama then walked over towards his own bed, and pulled the blankets off Tatsumaki, just enough to show her head so she could breath.
"Tsch, this child of an esper is going to drive me crazy…" Saitama said in a whispered tone, walking back towards his futon to sleep. He then jumped right onto his futon, throwing a light blanket over him.
"Eh, not like I don't like the extra company or anything." Saitama reasoned out to himself, falling fast asleep soon after, his apartment not making any other sound for the rest of the night.
The next morning wasn't eventful at all, except for the part where Ava woke up late for work. She was so panicked, that she went into flight mode, and flew through the guest room's window as super sonic speeds. Her take off was incredibly loud, making everyone rush in afterwards. She managed to leave a note stating her sudden departure, but had left the whole room in a cluttered mess, making Genos curse Ava's name when he discovered the room. Tatsumaki slept heavily in Saitama's bed, refusing to wake up, resulting in Saitama to yank her out of it. She dragged almost every bed sheet because of it, and in turn made Genos cry even more on the inside.
"I-It was b-baldy's fault! He yanked on my legs!" Tatsumaki shouted hysterically, looking at Saitama with a cute glare.
"Um, it's my room first off, and second, we gotta go to the Arena matches today, unless you forgot, Tats." Saitama plainly said to the esper, ignoring Genos's complaints towards Tatsumaki.
Feeling a little mad, but really happy about Saitama's new nickname for her, Tatsumaki simply huffed, and flew out into the living room, not catching Genos's cold glare.
"Sorry for making you clean up Genos." Saitama apologized lamely, immediately getting yelled at by Genos.
"Nonsense Sensei! This is the least I could do!" Genos said proudly, miniature stars replacing his eyes. Saitama simply grunted, and made sure everyone was ready to leave for the Arena.
Saitama made a call for Styles, and in just an hour's time, everyone came at the Arena main entrace, ready for whatever today might hold.
Arena Lobby: Present Time…
Saitama soon snapped out of his reminiscing, and went start into sorting out the drama. He looked over Genos, and spoke to him a rare, Sensei-like voice, instantly making Genos look over towards him.
"Oi Genos, get over it already. Don't tell me that words alone could get you this riled up, can it?" Saitama asked Genos sternly, Genos responding with a blush.
"R-Ridiculous! Something so trivial wouldn't get to me at all!" Genos answered back, flustered to all hell, his blush growing by the second.
"Good, then apologize to Fubuki for being an ass." Saitama said to Genos, his arms folded neatly, and an annoyed brow on his face. Tatsumaki's snickering only grew louder, but Saitama ignored it.
"B-Bu-" Genos stuttered, his arms flailing around rapidly, his face now looking like a fire extinguisher.
"You heard him, Mr. Maid!" Fubuki yelled off, coming from behind Saitama, extremely happy that Saitama took her side.
"You too Fubuki, you better apologize for being snarky as shit." Saitama said calmly, now facing Fubuki. Fubuki only looked towards Saitama, but he wasn't going to have any of it right now.
"B-But didn't you just tell Demon Cyborg to apologize?!" Fubuki stuttered back, but quickly shut her mouth, watching Saitama's hard look pierce through her.
"You better listen to this baldy, Fubuki." Tatsumaki sung out in a sing song voice, watching Fubuki glare at her menacingly.
"F-Fine… D-Demon Cyborg, I'm sorry for my remarks earlier…" Fubuki said harshly, turning towards Genos, and biting her tongue while she apologized to him.
"A-As do I, Ms. Blizzard of Hell. Please forgive my behavior earlier this morning." Genos said back coldly, bowing slightly as he did so.
Some time passed, as both heroes started to feel awkward afterwards. They turned to look towards Saitama, only to discover that he had left the both of them not too long ago. Feeling extremely embarrassed, both Fubuki and Genos looked frantically for Saitama in the Arena lobby only to find Saitama talking to a random child appearing out of nowhere. Fubuki, feeling like an idiot, followed Genos, who was about to call to Saitama.
"A-Ah, S-Sensei! Why did you leave so sudde-" Was all Genos could say, before noticing that the child that Saitama was talking too was Child Emperor himself. Fubuki also just realized it, and simply watched as Saitama conversed with Child Emperor easily. Something told Genos that his Sensei was about to do something ridiculous, and he knew that was going to be the case again.
Sup people, Chicken here. Gotta say, I love you guys to a tee! The story is going strong as ever, and the fights are getting closer, and closer. Hope my story's been keeping you guys entertained, and I promise more of it is on the way. Thanks for reading, and I'll see y'all in the next one! (Btw, leave reviews when you can! Be it bad or good, these reviews help me tweak the chapters I post. Once again, thanks for reading!)