Heyo, it's a me. Well, chapter 173 of the manga was really something huh? It confirms a lot of what most people thought, Blast being off fighting God somewhere. Blast sure is a beast, fighting God 1v1? What a chad. Anyways, this doesn't change my story all that much, I already got an idea of where to go with this. I think I'm gonna have fun with this.
Chapter Eighteen: Family Matters
"Oi! Pompadour!" Tatsumaki shouted, barging into Metal Bat's hospital room. "Amber Annihilator is a good name, right?"
"The fuck are you talking about?" Metal Bat groaned, pushing himself up with his elbows.
"Big Bro! Language!" Zenko admonished, swatting her brother's arm.
"Sorry Sis," Metal Bat mumbled.
"Hey! It's a good name, right?" Tatsumaki demanded, gesturing at the bald man hanging by the door. "Saitama doesn't think so but it totally is, right?"
"It's not!" Saitama protested.
"It's not bad," Metal Bat mused. "It's catchy, easy to remember, got alliteration, yeah. I'd say it's a good hero name."
"See! Told you!" Tatsumaki smirked.
"There is an issue though. His costume isn't amber, it's more of a banana color," Metal Bat said.
"See!" Saitama said. "It doesn't work!"
"Okay high school dropout, what's a better name?" Tatsumaki demanded.
"Golden Guard. Titanium. The Wasp. Sun Warrior," Metal Bat listed. "Don't give me that look. I've been brainstorming."
"I'm pretty sure that requires a brain," Tatsumaki said. "But some of those actually aren't bad. Except for the Wasp. That's stupid."
Metal Bat shrugged. "I was going with the bee theme, but there's already a hero named Stinger."
"Bee theme? For him?" Tatsumaki asked incredulously.
"Mostly just cause his suit is so obnoxiously yellow," Metal Bat explained.
"It's not obnoxious! So what did this to you anyway? Must be a pretty dangerous monster," Saitama said.
"Nah, it was that Hero Hunter guy. I totally would have beat him too, but Zenko was there," Metal Bat said.
"Weak! You should've beat him anyway," Tatsumaki said.
"Hey! Big Bro promised not to expose me to any violence!" Zenko tugged on Metal Bat's arm. "Isn't that right Big Bro?"
"Of course. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." Metal Bat picked her up and sat her next to him on his bed, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. Tatsumaki mimicked puking, which everyone just ignored.
"So this Hero Hunter guy's still causing trouble, huh?" Saitama asked. "What's he like?"
"The guy's a prick. I was busy trying to fight some big centipede monster, and he attacked me out of nowhere. Hm, I hope that kid and his dad are ok. Anyway, he pops up out of nowhere, spouts some bu…nonsense with this creepy smile on his face. He's crazy, yelling about how he was playing with me or something dumb like that. But he stopped attacking me when Zenko showed up. I woulda kept fighting, but there was that centipede, and Zenko knocked me down. I'll hand it to him, he's a quick bastard, and can hit better than most Tiger Level monsters, but I don't think he's that tough. I could tell he was avoiding my strikes at all costs. One good hit woulda changed the whole fight," Metal Bat grunted.
"Tch, idiot! You didn't even hit him once! What good are you!?" Tatsumaki yelled.
"Oi! Don't yell at my Big Bro!" Zenko cried.
"Huh? Is this child speaking to me?" Tatsumaki wondered.
"I thought the exact same thing at the S-Class meeting," Saitama whispered to Metal Bat, who chuckled.
"Oi! Don't make fun of my Big Bro!" Zenko asserted, slapping her hands on Metal Bat's bed, inadvertently hitting him, making him wince.
"Zenko, that was one of my broken ribs," Metal Bat groaned.
"I'm sorry Badd!" Zenko wailed, falling over to hug her older brother.
"It's alright, just eh, try not to do it again," Metal Bat said.
"Tch, whatever," Tatsumaki said, crossing her arms. "Control your sister, Metal Bat."
"Oh, hear that Zenko?" Metal Bat asked. "Big Bad Tatsumaki wants me to control you. I demand you give me all the snickers you have in your backpack!"
"No! I will never!" Zenko shrieked.
"Then I guess I have no choice but to tickle you!" Metal Bat yelled as he unleashed a furious assault on his sister, who was shrieking and squirming in laughter.
"Ugh, you both are children," Tatsumaki sneered.
"Yeah, well, at least I don't look like one," Metal Bat retorted. Tatsumaki's psychic aura flared, and Metal Bat put his arm in front of Zenko. The only thing that saved him from getting thrown out the window was a stern look from Saitama.
"You're literally seventeen, shut up," Tatsumaki said.
"What's your point, shortstack?" Metal Bat growled.
"If you're too weak to be playing hero, maybe you should just go home to your mommy," Tatsumaki taunted.
"Don't talk about my mommy!" Zenko cried, pushing past her brother's arm. Metal Bat tried to reach out and grab her, but Zenko had already run at Tatsumaki, who was too stunned by the tears in her eyes to do much besides let the girl pound her fists on Tatsumaki's legs.
"Zenko!" Metal Bat yelled, sitting up to reach for her.
"Don't talk about my mommy! Stop yelling at my Big Bro! Why are you so mean?" Zenko yelled, whacking her fist into Tatsumaki's thigh. She didn't protest when Saitama scooped her up and handed her back to Metal Bat. The girl hugged her brother tightly, burying her face in his shoulder.
"I think it's best if you go," Metal Bat said, wrapping his arm protectively around his sister.
"Don't go getting your panties in a twist," Tatsumaki said. "Where are your parents anyway?"
Metal Bat shrugged, his glare never leaving Tatsumaki's eyes. "Probably dead."
"Oh. I'm sorry," Tatsumaki said.
"I don't want your pity, Tornado of Terror," Metal Bat snapped.
Tatsumaki hmped. "There's a difference between pity and sympathy. Maybe you should learn it."
Tatsumaki left the hospital room, Saitama exiting a minute later, closing the door behind him gently. They walked out of the hospital silently.
"Did you know?" Tatsumaki whispered.
Saitama shook his head. "I guessed."
"Why?" Tatsumaki asked.
"You needed to hear it. There's a difference between sympathy and empathy too, you know," Saitama said to a very confused Tatsumaki.
The apartment was empty when Saitama and Tatsumaki returned. Not that either of them minded. Tatsumaki still hadn't said much, being uncharacteristically quiet. Saitama didn't mind that either. After the last few crazy days he had, it was nice to finally have some peace and quiet.
It was getting late, so Saitama decided to make some dinner. He really wasn't feeling up to make a real dinner like he would most nights, so he grabbed some instant ramen. He looked over at Tatsumaki, who had sunken into his bean bag and was staring intently at the floor. He grabbed a bowl for her too.
She accepted it meekly. When he didn't move after handing the bowl to her, she looked up at him. He nodded towards the balcony, and wordlessly she followed him outside. He fell into one of the chairs, while she sat in the other. She blew gently onto her ramen, swirling the steam that came up off it.
The two of them ate their noodles in silence. Tatsumaki would occasionally sneak glances at Saitama, who was staring up at the night sky. When Tatsumaki followed his gaze, there was nothing there. Only stars.
"Do you talk to your parents much?" Tatsumaki asked finally.
"No," Saitama said. "It's been a while."
"I talked to them a while back," Tatsumaki said. "They seem nice enough. Not overly concerned about you though. They didn't believe me when I said you were a hero."
Saitama chuckled. "You should've seen their reactions when I went bald. My mom almost didn't let me into the house."
"Did you never tell them you were a hero?" Tatsumaki asked.
Saitama shrugged. "It never came up, I guess."
"How does killing monsters the size of the Zeniru Building every week not come up over dinner conversation?" Tatsumaki asked.
"It didn't use to be every week," Saitama said. "It used to be more like once every couple months."
"Then it would be more significant when you did it!" Tatsumaki said.
"Eh," Saitama said. "I suppose. Though going to different dimensions would be a more entertaining story, I think."
"Whoa, hold up. You've been to another dimension!?" Tatsumaki cried.
"Yeah, three different ones. The first one I was summoned to. It was very medieval, sword and spear type of thing. They needed someone to save them from a monster king, some guy that could telepathically control monsters. Hey, can you do that?" Saitama wondered.
"I don't know. I have some experience speaking mind to mind, but I've never taken control of someone's mind like that," Tatsumaki said.
"You switched Metal Bat and I's mind," Saitama said.
"Not really. I replicated your neural inputs and outputs. I suppose I could probably do that to monsters, but minds are more metaphysical," Tatsumaki explained.
"I have no idea what you just said," Saitama deadpanned.
"Whatever. What happened to this monster king?" Tatsumaki asked.
"Same old story. I punched him. Had to search for his lair, beat up a few of his minions, and save some people. Took like three months," Saitama explained. "The second dimension I was in a group of ESPers sent me too when I was beating up their gang. They were some society of ESPers that wanted to take over the world probably, I kinda didn't listen. But when they realized they were gonna lose, the leaders forced me into a different dimension. This one was pretty barren. There was no sun and no stars, but the sky was green. The earth was black and spongy, and the trees felt like rocks. I explored for a little while, but there were no humans or sentient people around. They were some really cool looking bugs though, and a couple other small animals. Eventually I got bored and punched my way back here."
"How?" Tatsumaki asked.
"I dunno. I punched a hole in reality and went through it. That was so trippy. I ended up in some place, it was so weird. It was the most colorless but the most colorful thing I've ever seen. It was so vast, I could see thousands of different dimensions. It was pretty cool. I patched up the hole I made back up and eventually found my way back here. Found the group of ESPers and sent them to jail."
"Are they still there?" Tatsumaki asked.
"I think so, yeah," Saitama said. "Why?"
"I'm curious about this power to travel between worlds. Who knows, maybe I'll be a dimension hopper like you," Tatsumaki said.
"That'd be cool," Saitama said.
"What about the third dimension?" Tatsumaki asked.
"This one was completely by chance. This world was a lot more like ours, if a bit more technologically advanced. A girl was researching other dimensions and figured out how to make a portal. She was an ESPer, a whole lot weaker than you are though, and couldn't make a portal on her own. She created a machine that would help her create and maintain portals. She tried explaining the science to me a ton of times, but I didn't get it. The world itself was pretty cool. Apparently their planet didn't have much of an atmosphere, so it was a bit chilly. I guess it's kinda like being in space. The gravity wasn't as strong either. But the people there were hardy. They have a natural healing factor, like Zombieman, and are resistant to cosmic radiation. Not sure what that is exactly, but she kept mentioning it, so I guess it stuck. Anyways, I would go there every couple days for two years."
"What happened?" Tatsumaki asked.
"Well, one day she wondered if her species and humans were compatible," Saitama started.
"Compatible? What does that mean?" Tatsumaki demanded.
"Able to reproduce. Have babies. You know," Saitama said.
Tatsumaki blushed fiercely. "Saitama! How can you just say that so casually?"
"What? That's what she was experimenting," Saitama said.
"And you helped her with her…experiment?" Tatsumaki asked.
"Yeah," Saitama said.
"You're a bastard, Saitama," Tatsumaki snapped.
"What did I do?" Saitama asked.
"Gr, nevermind. Stupid boys. So you're not a virgin?" Tatsumaki asked.
"No. Why?" Saitama asked.
"I just never imagined you had a girlfriend," Tatsumaki said sullenly. She sunk into her chair, a depressed look on her face. Saitama eyed her. Were all girls this weird? It seemed so.
"It's not like we were in a relationship or anything," Saitama said.
"You had a kid together!" Tatsumaki yelled. "How is that not a relationship!? Wait, did it really work?"
"Yeah, she told me it worked. I kept visiting for a few more weeks, but her machine was starting to act funny, and she said as the child developed she would get weaker, so she was going to wait until after she gave birth to continue her research, but I haven't heard from her since. I hope she didn't get in trouble. The group of researchers she worked with were on board with the idea of exploring other worlds, but the bigger guild of researchers were iffy on it. I know that having a child was definitely not sanctioned, so she might have gotten in trouble for it," Saitama said.
"Do you miss her?" Tatsumaki asked.
"Yeah. I mean, I wish I could've been there to see my kid grow up, you know? Who knows if I'll even get to meet him. Or her. I'll probably never even know," Saitama said.
"What was her name?" Tatsumaki asked.
"Skye," Saitama said. "Interesting name cause they didn't really have a sky. I mean, they had a sun and stars, but the only difference between night and day was the sun. She was confused until she visited our world. She thought our day sky was beautiful. She said she had never seen something so blue."
"Wait, how was she able to come here? I thought she needed the machine to help her maintain the portal? Wouldn't it collapse if she passed through?" Tatsumaki asked.
"She had some other ESPers help her out," Saitama said.
"Huh," Tatsumaki said.
"What's your interest?" Saitama asked.
"Who wouldn't be curious about other dimensions?" Tatsumaki said.
"Not that. You asked about my parents? What brought that up?" Saitama asked.
"I don't know. I was thinking about Metal Bat and his sister, I suppose," Tatsumaki said.
"What about them?" Saitama asked.
"I don't know…just stupid stuff…nothing really," Tatsumaki mumbled.
"Hmmm," Saitama said.
"I dunno, really. Metal Bat's sister was so…protective of him. But he's the hero. He's the one going out to fight monsters. My sister never…worries about me like that. Tch, not that she needs too of course," Tatsumaki said quickly.
Saitama didn't look at her. He was still looking up at the night sky. It was admittedly a lot clearer than the view from City F. Tatsumaki fiddled with her chopsticks. Her bowl of ramen was almost empty.
"Hey, Saitama?" Tatsumaki asked. "Do you think…do you think there's a chance…do you think she loves me?"
A breeze swept by, and Tatsumaki shivered. It didn't seem to affect Saitama, though.
"Do you like stars, Tats?" Saitama asked.
"Uh, I guess?" Tatsumaki said.
"When I look up at the stars, do you know I see? I see chances. There are countless different stars, with planets of their own. There are even more dimensions, with even more stars and planets. There's more out there. There has to be. As long as there's light, there's a chance," Saitama said.
Tatsumaki nodded. "Thank you Saitama."
"No problem," Saitama replied. "I guess I am pretty speechy."
Saitama hid a grin behind his teacup as King finally scored the last hit on Tatsumaki, KOing her character. Tatsumaki flew into a rage, quite literally levitating in fury as she screamed at the TV, the characters, the controllers, King, the chair, his poor cactus and everything else in sight. Luckily though nothing was floating. She had gotten better at that. King sunk back in his chair, terrified by the green haired midget. As soon as she was done yelling, she whirled back to King and demanded a rematch. King, too frightened to disobey, nodded rapidly.
Tats had stayed the night, sleeping in an extra bedroll instead of going back to her house. Saitama was kinda annoyed, he had hoped to have a quiet night since Genos hadn't come home last night. Seriously, it would only take her like an hour to get there. I mean, it was only like ten o'clock last night. She coulda done it. Whatever. And of course she demanded breakfast. Luckily she isn't a big person, so her breakfast was pretty small. Then she went out on the porch and like, meditated for a while. Odd. He didn't take her to be a religious person, or whatever. King showed up around lunch time and they started playing some video games. Tats came in and demanded to join. Saitama gave her his controller, and decided to call Child Emperor. The poor kid had been busy planning, deploying robots, and making calls since yesterday. He sounded exhausted. Saitama told him to take a nap, then made tea.
It really was the simple pleasures, Saitama thought, watching Tatsumaki get increasingly frustrated as she landed only a few blows on King. King kept sinking further into his seat as the fight progressed, trying to make himself invisible. Luckily, Tatsumaki's only focus was her character, currently getting pummeled by a long haired man.
"Gah! Stupid buttons! You stupid machine! You will obey me! I will obliterate your ancestors! I will end your bloodline, you stupid fucking robot piece of garbage shitface ugly bitch!" Tatsumaki screamed.
During her tirade, she actually managed to score a hit on King, not that she noticed. She was too busy yelling. Wait a second, King's health bar is halfway down! That's further than he ever got it without King letting him! There was no way Tatsumaki was winning! Unless…
"King, are you letting Tatsumaki win!?" Saitama blurted out.
The sounds of video gaming stopped as both Tatsumaki and King whirled around to look at him. King, his face a mask of horror, and Tatsumaki, a growing look of anger.
"What the hell King!? Do you think I'm not good enough huh!? That I'm not a worthy challenger!? Fuck you! I'm the greatest fucking ESPer this world's ever seen! How dare you take it easy on me! Fight me with everything you got to stupid ugly scarred coward! You want me to go blow up your house in City M, huh!? Do you!? Stupid, ugly, blonde, moronic, cowardly, useless, stuck up, arrogant, egomaniacal, stupid piece of shit!" Tatsumaki yelled. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself!? Huh!? What're gonna say!? Speak up, I can't hear you!"
The alert on all their communicators buzzed and Tatsumaki turned and yelled "WHAT!?" at it.
"You know it's a phone, right Tats?" Saitama asked.
"S-shut up, I knew that," Tatsumaki blushed.
"Yeah, whatever," Saitama said, picking up the communicator. "Huh, looks like some heroes fighting the Hero Hunter need backup."
"Ugh, stupid idiots. Can't they do anything on their own? They're so useless! Come on Saitama, let's go," Tatsumaki said.
"Wait, hold up, looks like another S-Class hero showed up. They probably don't need us," Saitama said.
"Who cares? They'll probably lose too, and then we'll have to clean up their mess again," Tatsumaki said.
"Nah, I'm sure they'll be fine," Saitama said.
"Hey, where's Genos?" King asked.
"Probably off getting an oil bath and NOT BEING A CHEATER!" Tatsumaki yelled. King shrunk back into his chair.
"I'm sure he's fine," Saitama said. An image of Genos, crumpled on the pavement, half his face sheared off, steaming as the metal melted off his body appeared in Saitama's mind. "On second thought, mine as well check it out."
"Great! Let's go!" Tatsumaki said.
"Hold up, let me get my hero suit on," Saitama said.
"Why? Let's just go," Tatsumaki complained.
"What if I get blood on this shirt?" Saitama argued. "I've ruined enough normal clothes as is. I'm putting on my hero suit."
Tatsumaki mumbled as Saitama changed into his hero costume. He heard something about an egg. Was she still thinking about breakfast?
"Alright, let's go. King, you coming?" Saitama asked.
"No, it's not necessary," King replied.
"Ok. Have fun," Saitama said. He and Tatsumaki left his apartment, heading towards S-City. As they reached the center of the city, there was a massive rumbling, and an enormous centipede-like creature shot up from the ground.
"Woah!" Saitama exclaimed. "That's a big bug."
"That's Elder Centipede!" Tatsumaki yelled down to him. "You fought him two years ago!"
"I did?" Saitama replied. "Huh. I don't recall that."
"It's chasing people!" Tatsumaki yelled.
"What!? Get it's attention for me," Saitama said.
Tatsumaki nodded and flew off in the direction of the bug. Saitama ran towards the hills, out of the city, where hopefully there wouldn't be as much collateral damage.
"Oi! Ugly!" Saitama heard Tatsumaki yell. "Yeah you stupid bug! I've heard a lot about you, the big scary monster that survived Blast. He let you off easy last time. Lucky you."
The centipede made a rumbling noise that vibrated the trees for miles as it glared at Tatsumaki.
"Oh, was that supposed to be intimidating? You think I'm scared of an oversized bug like you?" Tatsumaki mocked. "I'd love to kill you myself, but a friend of mine called dibs. Maybe you know him. His name is Blast."
"Blast." Elder Centipede rumbled.
"Oh you can talk. Look at that. Your mama must be so proud," Tatsumaki taunted. Saitama sighed. Was this really necessary? He asked her to get its attention, not berate it. It was about to die anyway.
"Anyways, since you're not worth my time anyways, he's over there. See him?" Tatsumaki asked.
Elder Centipede followed Tatsumaki's finger to where Saitama stood. Elder Centipede's eyes widened. "BLAST."
The giant centipede dove to the forest floor and charged over to where Saitama stood. Within a few seconds, it was towering over him. Its six beady eyes stared at him unblinking, both mouths set into sneers. "Blast."
"Hey there big boy," Saitama called. "I was told we fought in the past. You look kinda familiar, but I don't really remember that. Care to remind me how it went down?"
Elder Centipede's sneer deepened. "Lord Orochi requested I not kill you. You tempt me to disobey."
Saitama just shrugged. "I have that effect on people."
"Come find us in the outskirts of Z-City. We will be waiting. Fail, and the child dies."
"Child? What child?" Saitama demanded. The centipede just smirked and dove into the ground. A minute later, the centipede was gone, a hole in the ground the only evidence that it had even been there.
"Oi! What the fuck was that!?" Tatsumaki yelled.
"It said something about a child," Saitama said.
"So? If you killed it, we wouldn't have to worry about it," Tatsumaki said.
"No. It's part of this monster association right? If I killed it, then the other monsters woulda killed the kid," Saitama said.
"Not if we killed them first!" Tatsumaki said.
"They probably would've. Either way, it seems like they're gearing up for some final battle. They won't be causing trouble until that," Saitama said. "Let's go grab those heroes."
Turns out, it was Bang and Genos there, along with some other old guy and some other heroes that had been running from the centipede.
"Oi! Genos! You got all melted again," Saitama said.
"Yes sensei. It seems I was not able to defeat this monster. What is it that I am lacking?" Genos asked.
"Uh, I don't know, power I guess?" Saitama said.
Genos gasped. "You're right sensei! Thank you!"
"Saitama boy, it seems you saved the day once again," Bang said.
"Seems like it. Hey, what happened to your shirt?" Saitama asked.
Bang chuckled. "I'm afraid it got torn."
"Ah," Saitama said.
"Hey," one of the barely conscious heroes asked. His glasses had been smashed to pieces. "I heard something about Blast. Where is he?"
Tatsumaki smirked. "You're looking at him."
"This guy? No way he's Blast," he said.
"Oi! If I say this guy's Blast he's fucking Blast so fuck you and your mom and your dog and your shitty ass house you stupid useless no good piece of shit waste of a hero!" Tatsumaki yelled.
"Oi, Tats, chill out," Saitama said.
"Hmph," Tatsumaki replied.
"Apologize to the man," Saitama said.
"..."
"Tatsumaki," Saitama warned.
"Fine. Sorry. Happy?" Tatsumaki snapped.
"Much better," Saitama said. Tatsumaki tried to hide a smile. "Alright, let's drop these guys off at the hospital and go home."
They did just that, arriving back at Saitama's apartment just as night fell. King greeted them with a raised eyebrow, seeing all of his fellow heroes in such a state of disarray. "Looks like it went well."
"Oh, yeah, it went great, no dead monster, no captured hero hunter, and two S-Class heroes out of commission for a while," Tatsumaki huffed.
"Saitama, do you perchance any acupuncture needles?" Bang asked.
"Uh, no, they wouldn't work on me anyways," Saitama said.
"I suppose that's fair," Bang said.
"I have some," Genos said.
"You? Why do you have acupuncture needles?" Tatsumaki asked.
"I bought some to see if the stimulation of certain nerves could help regrow Master Saitama's hair. I did not take into account his imperviousness to needles," Genos said.
"Wow, real smart of you," Tatsumaki said.
"Bomb, help me out would you?" Bang asked. Bomb kneeled down and started applying needles to his brother's back. Genos started working on his own repairs, and Saitama and King started playing some kind of video game on a hand held device. Tatsumaki settled down in front of the TV, flipping randomly through channels. After a half hour of relative peace and quiet, the only sounds being Saitama's and King's videogames and the electronic whine of Genos' tools, the doorbell rang. Bomb volunteered to get it. Tatsumaki watched with interest. Who could this be? The majority of the S-Class that hadn't been hospitalized had gathered at the headquarters in City A. When Bomb returned, Tatsumaki did a double take.
"Fubuki!?"
Author's Notes: A while back, someone asked if Blue was still gonna be canon in this story. Well, here's your answer. He'll be in this story in a little while, and I bet you can't guess what role he'll be taking on. Anyways, cheerio, up next some fun sisterly bonding!