Ok, so we can basically say that Saitama is 100% not Blast. Tbh I never really liked that theory anyway. However, it did get me thinking, well what if he was? So basically, Saitama we're picking up back at the beginning of Season 1, except Saitama's a bit older. You'll see his backstory this chapter, so I won't give that much away. Anyway, I've had this story around for a while and haven't posted it, and I haven't been writing my main story (read it if you like this story) all that much, so I decided to throw this one out here. I have eight chapters written at the moment, not sure what happens after I post them.

Chapter One: The Lost Child

Men screamed, running down the hallway. Loud footsteps stomped, growing louder. The whole room seemed to shake with the force of the monster's footfalls.

Tatsumaki grabbed the iron bars and tried to peer outside. People in white lab coats rushed down the cement hall, away from the sound. None spared her a passing glance, too terrified to worry about anything but their own lives.

"Hey! Wait! Don't forget about me! You can't leave me here!" Tatsumaki screamed. No one paid attention to her.

"AHH!" One of the scientists screamed as a massive mouth grabbed the man's legs. The man continued to scream as the beast dragged him closer to it, slowly devouring the man. Tatsumaki screamed, watching in horror as blood erupted from the man's mouth as his chest was crushed within the monster's jaws.

The creature's eyes snapped towards her. Tatsumaki screamed, stumbling back from the door and tripping over her own feet. She heard it prowl towards the door to her cell. One of its enormous eyes peered into her room, boring into her. Tatsumaki covered her eyes, weeping softly. She didn't want to die.

The creature roared and there was a huge BANG! Tatsumaki screamed, expecting to be eaten any second. When the pain never came, she slowly removed her hands from her eyes. The metal door had been caved in, barely hanging off its hinges. Beyond it, she could see the sky. Tatsumaki blinked, getting up and stumbling out of the room. When had been the last time she had seen the sun? It was so bright.

Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked around. Where the roof of the facility had been, there was just a large hole. Beyond it there were just trees, no signs of civilization in sight. Below it was the corpse of the monster, the top half of its head gone and blood leaking everywhere. Tatsumaki gaped, shivering at the carnage. Tatsumaki shrieked as she realized she was stepping in the foul liquid.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Tatsumaki jumped at the sound, whirling around, but her foot slipped on the blood. Tatsumaki yelled as she fell. Suddenly there was a pressure on her back and a shadow over her eyes. "Be more careful. You almost got yourself hurt."

The figure gently pushed her to her feet. Tatsumaki looked up at the man. Staring back at her was a short, bald man. His expression was blank, his eyes impassive. He wore a cheap rubber hero suit, with red boots and gloves and a white cape. Tatsumaki stepped back from the man, who was obviously a weirdo.

"Hey, kid, where are your parents? Whatcha doin' all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?" The bald man asked her.

Tatsumaki stared at him distrustfully. What was he doing here? Was this some kind of test devised by the people here? If so, they couldn't have done a better job hiring the most lackluster actor they could find. There were no interesting qualities about this man, besides the bald head of his. But then again, it could be a trick. Maybe they wanted her to trust him. And he would deliver her back into their clutches.

The bald man looked at her oddly. "Come on. Let's go find your parents, huh? They're probably worried about you."

Tatsumaki almost laughed at that. Her parents? Worried about her? This man clearly wasn't prepared for whatever he was sent her for. Was the shock supposed to jolt her powers back on? If so, it didn't work.

The bald man sighed. "Fine. Stay here if you want. But I'm going to get some udon."

The man started walking away. Tatsumaki gasped. He was just going to leave her here!? "N-no! Wait!"

The man looked back at her. "Well come on then."

Tatsumaki rushed to catch up to him. She still didn't trust him, but it was better than staying in that place.

"So, you like udon?" The bald man asked her casually, looking up at the ceiling. Tatsumaki shook her head. "No, huh? What about sushi?"

Tatsumaki shook her head again. "Damn. How about takoyaki?"

Tatsumaki nodded and he looked down at her. "Nice. You want some?"

Tatsumaki nodded again. Her stomach growled, thinking about food that wasn't the mush they served her here. "Cool. I know a great Takoyaki place."

The two walked in silence for a bit before Tatsumaki realized something. The bald man had been looking at the ceiling when he responded to her. How had he known she shook her head? There was no way he'd been able to see her. Was he a psychic like her? Or just rehearsing some kind of script and knew what she was going to say?

"Hey! You there! Stop! You are in possession of our property!"

Tatsumaki turned as three scientists ran towards them. The bald man turned around as well, looking confused. "You can't own people. That's illegal."

"Shut up. I don't know how you got in here, but there's no way we're letting you out. Now hand over the girl!"

One of the men made to grab her. Tatsumaki screamed, scrambling back. Tears flooded her eyes. "Please! Mister! Don't let them take me! Please!"

"Shut up! Get back in your cell! Our research isn't complete yet."

The man lunged for her again. The man reached out and touched her, but suddenly she was in the air. Tatsumaki sobbed, clutching whatever was holding her.

"I don't normally do this to people, but there's no way you people aren't monsters," a voice said. Tatsumaki looked up. The bald man's face loomed over her, looking at the scientists, who backed up in shock. He held her in one arm, which she was clinging to for dear life.

"Close your eyes for a second," the bald man whispered. Squeezing her eyes shut, Tatsumaki felt a rush of wind. Tatsumaki touched her face, a wet droplet of liquid somehow now on her cheek. Tatsumaki opened her eyes. Her hands were smeared red.

"What did I say about peeking?" The bald man said, sternly but softly. Tatsumaki looked up at him. He looked down at her, a small smile on his face.

"Th-thank you, mister," Tatsumaki stuttered.

"Well it's not like I could leave you there. Plus, those dudes were jerks. What kind of weirdos live in the middle of nowhere am I right?" The bald man said without a care in the world. Tatsumaki giggled, then slapped her hands over her mouth. What was she doing?

"Oi. You said you liked takoyaki, right?" The bald man asked her, stepping over a piece of cement.

Tatsumaki nodded again. The bald man looked around like he was looking for something. "Alright. Hold on tight."

Tatsumaki gripped his arm tightly. Suddenly the whole world became a blur, and wind was whipping by. Tatsumaki snapped her eyes shut to block out the insanity, but as soon as she did it all stopped and everything in her body jerked forward. Tatsumaki felt like she was going to throw up. Nothing made sense and everything was in all the wrong places.

"Hey, kid, you alright?"

Tatsumaki nodded, even as her stomach threatened to spew out her insides. The bald man set her down on the street, but Tatsumaki's arms wouldn't work. They were taught, unable to move.

"You sure you're alright? You seem a little pale," the man commented. Tatsumaki eventually forced her body to move again and she let him go.

A car bustled by, surprising Tatsumaki. Just a minute ago, they were in the middle of the woods, with no signs of civilization anywhere. And now they were in a sprawling metropolis, surrounded by huge buildings and people everywhere. How the hell did they get here?

"Yo. The restaurant's right here."

Tatsumaki turned towards the bald man. He was holding the door open for her, a glass door leading into a restaurant. It was nothing fancy, but not exactly a vendor on the side of the road. Tatsumaki stepped inside, savoring the smells and noise of the place. The bald man put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. "Come on. They've got a table reserved for me."

The bald man led her to a booth in the back. Immediately a woman came up to them. "I'll let the boss know you're in. Will you have your usual?"

The bald man nodded. "What about you?"

Tatsumaki looked up at the woman who was smiling at her. Tatsumaki raised the menu to try and cover her face. "I think she needs a minute," The bald man said, and the server walked away. Tatsumaki sighed and put the menu down.

"So what's your name?" the bald man asked. "I don't wanna keep calling you kid anymore, it feels kinda rude."

"It's Tatsumaki," she answered quietly.

"Well it's nice to meet you Tatsumaki," the bald man said.

"What about you?"

"Hm?" the bald man asked.

"What's your name?"

"Oh. I'm Saitama," the bald man told her.

"You saved me," Tatsumaki said. "Why?"

"I'm a hero. That's what hero's do," Saitama replied. He tilted his head a little. "I say that, but I do have a proper job too. The heroing's more of a hobby."

"I thought no one would ever find me," Tatsumaki whimpered. "I thought I would be in that place forever, and no one would even know, or care and my little sister would be all alone and she'd be so scared and there's nothing I could do it was so dark and scary and lonely I thought I was gonna die."

Tatsumaki was hyperventilating, her breaths coming in short bursts. Tears streamed down her face. Angrily she wiped them away but new ones just came. She sniffled, feeling the bald man's eyes on her.

"Hey, look," he said. Tatsumaki looked up at him and gasped. Instead of the goofy face she was used to, a defined and chiseled form stared back at her. "I've been in some pretty rough places. I've been on the brink of death more times than I can count. So believe me when I tell you this. Everyone's responsible for their own fate. No matter where you are or what you do, you can't give up. You have to keep going. Because when the time comes, you can't rely on anyone else to save you."

Tatsumaki looked up at him in awe. This man, no, this god, was right. She had been in that place for how long? And no one had come to rescue her until he arrived. What if he hadn't been there? She would have been devoured by that monster. This life was cruel and unforgiving. If she wanted to live in it, she had to fend for herself.

She had to become stronger.

"Saitama my old friend! Welcome back! We haven't seen you in some time!" A large, chubby man greeted.

"Hey Hiro, I've been busy with work and heroing. And I brought a friend with me. She'll be able to help me out, right?"

The large man looked at her. "Ma'am, I don't know what you did to get him to bring you here, but anything you want you've got. This man saved us all from a really bad gang last year, and saved my restaurant personally twice now. If you're a friend of his, you're always welcome here."

Tatsumaki smiled at him. The man clapped his hands together. "Alright, down to business. You know the deal, Saitama."

Two waiters brought out a large plate of Takoyaki. It was so big, both of them needed two hands to carry it. "If you can eat this whole plate, I'll let you pay for it."

Saitama's serious face was on when he said, "It's on!"


Eighteen years later

Tatsumaki scowled, looking at these damage reports across various cities. All of them were the same. Monsters of huge proportions killed with a single, powerful blow, often decimating the area behind the monster as well. The problem wasn't identifying who the culprit was. Tatsumaki could guess who was behind it. No, the trouble came from making a pattern from these.

In the last week alone, twelve of these kinds of things had appeared, each in entirely different regions. A few in Z City, a couple in M City, J City had a few of these. One or two of these killings had been credited to King, but the similarities were just too damn close to be anything other than him. Saitama, her saviour. The unknowingly S Class Rank One Hero, Blast. He had been given the name by an official who remarked that it looked like a nuclear blast had gone off at one of the sites. From then on, the legend of Blast was born, the mysterious hero who hated the limelight and couldn't be ordered around by anyone. It was mostly an excuse for the sponsors why they couldn't just call in Blast to fix the problem, but Tatsumaki herself requested saving the number one spot for him. It was her one condition for joining the Hero Association when she was approached by Sitch. That so long as Saitama existed and continued to do hero work, no one else would claim the top spot within the organization. Not even Tatsumaki, who reported the most kills for Hero Association, triple the amount of Drive Knight, came close to the staggering pile of corpses that went unreported. A few looked like they had been defeated by some random person, but a shocking amount were totally blown apart. All by a single punch, if Tatsumaki had to bet.

Which brought Tatsumaki back to her original problem. Where was the correlation? How was Saitama going from city to city and not being detected by any cameras or being spotted by civilians? Not one report mentioned a bald man in a yellow suit. Tatsumaki knew he was fast. Even now, she doubted she could reach the speeds Saitama had carried her at. He was unreal. But still. There had to be some way to find him.

Tatsumaki had learned a lot about Saitama's past in her effort to find him. She tracked down his parents, old people now. They were nice. She discovered the place where Saitama had worked for 25 years. She smiled, remembering a picture of Saitama's awkward face sitting in a cubicle, taken by one of his co-workers. It was amusing to think that the most powerful person who ever lived working a mundane nine to five job.

Tatsumaki sighed. In the past three years, it had been dead end after dead end. It was like the man was a ghost. He had sold his apartment after saving Agoni's grandson and no traces of the man appeared after that. Tatsumaki had even created a special division of the Hero Association solely dedicated to looking through unreported monster defeats and seeing if they matched Saitama's description and looking for any clues. But there was still nothing.

Tatsumaki floated up and away from her computer. She needed to kill something. She was too stressed out. Killing things always helped her relieve some stress. Just as she was about to fly away to find a weakling to squash, her cell phone call. Tatsumaki wanted to scream. Seeing the Hero Association's number diminished that need, but only slightly.

"What do you want?" Tatsumaki snapped at the operator.

"Miss Tatsumaki, Sitch has asked you to come to the Hero Association's headquarters," the woman said calmly. Most had learned to expect a bad attitude whenever talking to her.

"Why? Can't he just give me the location of whatever monster needs slaughtering over the phone?" Tatsumaki asked.

"It's not about a monster Miss Tatsumaki," the woman said. "Mr. Sitch just said it would be something that you'd want to see."

"Hmph. Fine. But if it turns out to be a waste of time, I'm going to flip the HQ on its head and bury it." With those parting words, Tatsumaki ended the call and flew off her penthouse balcony, eliciting several ooh's and ah's from the people below her. She was used to the attention by now. Being the second strongest person in the Hero Association didn't come without its perks.

It took her less than an hour to fly from her house in City F to the Hero Association Headquarters in City A. She landed at the front door, surprising the two people standing outside. Tatsumaki just harrumphed as they picked up their guns and walked past them into the Headquarters. Tatsumaki rode the elevator up, stamping her feet impatiently. She had been denied her hunt after a frustrating day of failure. And as she flew, she didn't see a single monster to kill on her way over. Patience was not one of Tatsumaki's virtues. If this turned out to be a waste of her time, Tatsumaki would probably just throw this place into the sun out of frustration.

The doors dinged open and Tatsumaki flew out, making some officer worker spill his coffee. Tatsumaki made her way to Sitch's office and slammed open the door. Sitch jerked up but smiled when he saw Tatsumaki.

"Ah, good. You're here," Sitch said, getting to his feet. "Come on. There's something I think you'll want to see."

"If this is a waste of my time-" Tatsumaki started, but Sitch cut her off. "I assure you, I think you'll be most satisfied by what you see."

Sitch led her down the hall and into the elevator, pressing level 13. Tatsumaki's pace quickened. The doors opened and Sitch brought her to one of the monitors on the far wall. It was large, almost taller than Tatsumaki herself. Sitch nodded to one of the workers, who brought up a security video of a hospital room, with a small girl sitting on the edge of the bed, and two Hero Association Workers standing next to her.

"Can you tell us what happened? Who defeated the monster?" One of the workers asked.

The girl cringed before responding. "I don't know. I want my mommy. Where's my mommy?"

Tatsumaki felt a familiar pang in her chest before squashing it down. Feeling sorry for the girl wouldn't bring her parents back. It wouldn't stop any more monster attacks. It would only hinder her ability to fight them. She couldn't afford to feel sorry for her. She had a job to do. She was a hero.

The two workers in the video shared a look. "We'll keep looking for her. Can you tell us anything about the man who brought you here?"

"He looked funny," the girl said. The Association workers waited for her to continue but she didn't. One of them pulled out two pictures, one of Smile Man, and the other of Lightning Max. "Were either of these men the one who beat the monster."

The girl shook her head. "The man who beat Vaccine Man was bald. He had a yellow suit and white cape and red gloves and boots."

"Vaccine Man?" The worker questioned. The girl nodded. "That's what he called himself. He was wiping humans from the earth because we're pollutants. He was angry that the bald man had a bad backstory."

"What?"

"He was mad that the bald man was a hero for fun," the girl clarified.

Tatsumaki felt a shiver crawl down her spine. The video ended and Sitch turned to her. "This girl was admitted to the hospital after a monster destroyed most of City A a few days ago. The description matches exactly what you and Agoni's grandson described to us. A bald man wearing a yellow suit with a white cape and red gloves and boots who is a hero for fun. It has to be Blast."

Sitch turned to Tatsumaki, who was deep in thought. After all these years, he was still here, still saving humanity without any recognition. Still completely untraceable. Where are you, Saitama?


Saitama sat on his balcony, watering his cactus. He was so lost in thought, he barely registered how much water he was giving his cactus.

He was going to have crab for dinner. The same crab he bought a few days ago when he beat that big dude with the other dude on his shoulder. He liked crabs, used to eat them all the time. But that was before the big crab incident.

Saitama remembered the day clearly. It was bright and sunny out, the opposite of how he was feeling. Saitama looked up as he heard some screams.

Two people ran away from an enormous crab with disturbingly human legs, wearing only a pair of underwear. The crab approached him and grinned, raising his claw. Saitama just stared up at him.

Yet, the claw didn't come down. "What's wrong? You got a death wish or something?" The crab asked.

Saitama blinked in surprise before answering. "Nah, not really. I'm just kinda bummed right now."

The crab lowered his claw and frowned. "So you're not gonna run?"

Saitama shook his head. "Normally I'd just punch you and walk away, but you're the only monster who asked me about how I feel. First person, too actually. I just got fired from my job where I've worked for twenty years. There were some budget cuts, and I haven't been promoted in like ten years, so they decided I wasn't good enough to keep around. I don't really know what to do with my life now."

The crab smirked at him. "Well, from one pair of dead eyes to another, I'll give you some advice. Get a hobby, like me. I was like you, a sad man going nowhere with my life. My only real passion was eating crabs. I loved them so much I turned into one. And now I've never been happier."

The large crab man stepped around Saitama. "You're like me, so I'll let you live. Besides, I'm hunting other prey. Some big chinned brat drew nipples on my chest, so I'm gonna pulzerive him."

Saitama let him go. A hobby, huh? He had one already.

As Saitama walked, he reflected on the monster's words. Maybe there was some truth in them. Saitama never really enjoyed his job. He just did it to pay the bills. When he first decided to be a hero, it was his whole life. He trained in the most inhumane conditions known to man, no AC or heat, with the most intense workout possible, 100 pushups, 100 sit ups, and a 10 kilometer run. He trained until his muscles burned and elbows clicked, and his hair fell out. He fought monsters and nearly died a few times. Ever since he gained this immense strength, everything had seemed duller. He went to work, went home, put on his hero costume and patrolled the streets. At first it was just robbers and muggers, and sometimes the occasional monster. But soon he was taking on gangs and drug cartels. More monsters started showing up, and Saitama killed them all in one punch. Monsters went from just one of the things he had to watch for to the main thing. It wasn't long before he had to scrub monster blood off his suit every night.

When was the last time he had really been happy? The last time he had a sense of purpose, of fulfillment? He supposed it was when he was training to become a hero. He was always busy with work, but every spare second was used training or patrolling the streets for danger. He was never bored, always having something to do.

And right then, Saitama made a decision that would change his life forever. Screw 'real' jobs. From now on, he would be a hero full time. Saitama rushed home, a small smile on his face. He changed into his hero suit and set off again. Saitama strolled down the street, ignoring a few odd glances. Suddenly the bright sky made sense. Today was a new day.

Saitama's good mood screeched to a halt when he spotted a kid playing with a soccer ball. Not just any kid. A big chinned kid. Should he do something?

Saitama walked up to the kid. "Hey kid, did you draw nipples on a crab man?"

The kid looked up at him and sneered. "Yeah. Want me to give you some hair? What are you supposed to be anyway, some kind of superhero."

"I'm a hero for fun," Saitama replied, deciding this was definitely the kid.

Said kid rolled his eyes. "Whatever dude."

"Found you!" a voice shouted. Saitama rushed and grabbed the kid, moving him to a safe distance as a massive claw smashed the ground where he just was.

"Huh?" the crab man said, lifting his claw to see nothing beneath it. He looked over at Saitama. "Hey deadeyes, what do you think you're doing? And what are you wearing?"

"Get out of here kid," Saitama demanded.

"My ball!" the kid shouted. The big crab stepped on the ball, popping it beneath his foot. "I let you off once cause I liked you. But if you get in the way of my vengeance, I'll crush you!"

"Come on dude, it's just a drawing, it's not a big deal," Saitama reasoned.

"Not a big deal!" the crab roared. "That brat drew on my super masculine and awesome body with a permanent marker! Look at these claws! How am I supposed to wash this off? If you want to get in my way then die!"

The crab swung his claw at Saitama, who simply caught it in one hand. The crab was stunned. Saitama tossed the claw aside.

"Heh. You're tougher than you look," the crab complemented. "But I won't hold back anymore! It's time for you to die!"

Saitama sighed. The crab roared, shouting something about his finishing move. Before he could finish talking, Saitama swung his fist, nonchalantly shattering the monster's shell and blasting its insides all over the street. Saitama walked away, unaware of the shocked kid staring at the blood dripping off the wall a few hundred feet away.

Saitama blinked, coming out of his reprieve. Has it really been three years since then? He moved to a smaller apartment in City Z since it was cheaper. He's killed a whole bunch of monsters, more than he ever had before. It was kind of alarming how many monsters seemed to be roaming the streets nowadays. It didn't matter though. None of them lasted more than a single punch against him, and then he was on his way.

Saitama raised his watering can, stopping the water from overflowing the pot. Saitama watched as the water settled into the dirt around the cactus. In the three years he had been a hero full time, he hadn't found the satisfaction he was looking for. In some sense, he envied the crab man. He had a passion and followed it through and it made him happy. Saitama remembered that sense of drive and motivation when he was first starting to train. But now, as strong as he'd become, he couldn't seem to find satisfaction in anything. None of the monsters he'd fought provided any semblance of a challenge. Never had bringing down a gang or stopping a robbery provided him with a warm feeling in his chest, like what was described in the mangas he read. More often than not, it only ended up with someone shouting at him and sometimes a bit of pepper spray to the face. Not that it did anything. But it was still annoying. So that was his current dilemma. Why was he a hero? He never got any satisfaction. He didn't get paid for it. No one ever thanked him. What was his purpose? What was he doing this for? Was this just something to do to pass the time? That's what hobbies were, right?

As Saitama thought about these things, a little mosquito came and landed on his hand. Saitama smacked it, but a moment later it flew away. Saitama growled. He smacked at it again, but failed to hit it. The tiny insect buzzed around his face, settling there. Smacking it again, Saitama began to grow angry with the tiny bug.

"Damn Mosquitoes!"