Hey guys, Crescent Rider here and I am back with another chapter. Normally, I would start this chapter with Nadia in her apartment. But this time, it'll be a different manner since I want to see how it all goes.
Other than that, enjoy the chapter!
City - A
Inside the public library was Nadia sitting on an armchair with legs crossed together, reading another book, and several stacked books around her. On one side were the books she has yet to read, and on the other was the one she finished reading.
As she kept reading, she soon noticed a plate of freshly baked cookies was placed by a table and Nadia looks up to see the librarian placing them.
She then decided to take a break from all her reading and took some cookies since she is often fond of sweets despite her mental maturity.
After eating a couple of cookies, the librarian then gave her a bottle of water for her to drink in and Nadia accepts this before heading back to the armchair to read some more.
Once the librarian picks up the plate, she then heads back to the counter. But she was soon greeted by a group of men in suits as they entered the library.
"May I help you?" The Librarian questioned,
The one in front glanced around and had a look of interest in the library's interior.
"This building seems nice, a lot of space if the shelves are removed, the walls are well maintained," The man then glanced at the woodwork of the counter, "And fine craftsmanship,"
"I don't understand..." The Librarian inquired,
"Lady, we would like to buy this property from you," The man stated, "It'd be better off as an apartment building than some old public library,"
The Librarian was a bit confused by this and then glances at the other men behind him. They appear to be bodyguards with shady characters.
After a moment of silence, she then continued with her discussion with the man in front, "My apologies. But I'm afraid I can't give this place,"
"I'm not asking you. I'm telling," The man said, then leans towards the counter, "Now if you don't leave now. I will have my friends here to escort you out the hard way. So... What will it be?"
The largest of the group steps forward and towers over the poor old librarian while the man in front smirked. Before anything could happen, Nadia approaches the counter with a couple of books on hand.
"Excuse me, I would like to borrow these books," Nadia requested, and then all eyes were on her,
For some unknown reason, the librarian's emotions were suddenly calmed as she immediately nods to her request, grabbed the books, and settled the dates of the borrowed books.
Meanwhile, the man in front stared at the girl and something felt off about her.
As the librarian worked on the books, she suddenly had the recollection of arranging the other books since some books were left on the cart.
Therefore, she decided to tend to that matter while the man in front and his bodyguards paid no attention to her. With the librarian gone, Nadia soon spoke to them, "May I ask why you're doing this?"
"What do you mean?" The man questioned,
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with the sweet librarian. Therefore, I asked why you're doing this?" Nadia stated,
"If you overheard me. Then you must know not to get involved, little girl," The man stated, "Shouldn't you be with your parents?"
"I don't have any, and this library just happens to make me feel right at home," Nadia said, "Also..."
The men soon felt an ominous aura from the girl despite not making proper eye contact.
"I've read the books. It states that you're not allowed to legally claim someone else's property out on a whim..." Nadia stated, "Even more so when you're threatening an old lady for it..."
"D-Do you even know who I am?!" The man questioned,
"I do, but why would it matter?" Nadia questioned,
The man clenched his teeth, then immediately turns to one of his bodyguards, "You! Go get that old hag back here!"
The bodyguard nods and goes to find her, but he ends up bumping into some sort of invisible field that prevents him from going further into the library.
"What the hell?!" The man exclaimed,
"It's useless," Nadia said, "I've placed that way before I came along,"
"Then it stands to reason that you must be taken care of," The large bodyguard stated, then towers over Nadia, "In that case,"
The large bodyguard clenched his fist, then attempted to land a punch on her. As it reaches her, it suddenly stops when it made a loud thud considering the strength he has.
But it didn't matter as he soon registered immense pain, held onto his now broken hand, and screamed in utter agony. As for Nadia, she just grabbed one of the books from the counter and slowly read the pages while ignoring the man's pain.
The man and his bodyguards were utterly shocked by this sudden turn of events. At first, they assumed this person is a hero of the Association. But they've dismissed this as they've dealt with the Heroes Association before and had no problems whatsoever.
The next assumption was something that they feared...
"Y-You're a monster, aren't you," The man stutteringly questioned,
The question suddenly perked Nadia from her reading as she was about to turn a page over. A small smile crept up from her face then slowly turns her head to the men, "No, I am human..."
When she fully turns her body towards them, they all felt their legs turn to jelly, and despair reigned upon them as if they were facing Death himself.
"But even humans are monsters too," Nadia grimly stated,
Before they could even plead for their lives to spare. Nadia's eyes constantly changed dramatically as she slowly approached them.
A Few Minutes later
The Librarian soon returns to the counter after returning the books to their proper shelves and finds Nadia alone and the men were nowhere near the counter.
"Where did those men go to?" The Librarian questioned,
"They left a while after you've arranged the shelves," Nadia replied,
"I-I see," The Librarian said while scratching her head a couple of times,
"By the way, Can I have my books now?" Nadia requested,
"Sure thing, sweetie," The Librarian said, then passes the books to Nadia,
After that, Nadia soon left the library. But she converses with the entity within her mind.
"Who knew you'd go about killing again" The Strict voice inquired, "Didn't you hate all the killing?"
"Still I do," Nadia muttered, "Enough about me, how is he holding up?"
"See for yourself" The Strict voice responded,
The man soon reappears before her, but in a severe condition as he was raggedly breathing and bled in several places on the ground.
'He's in a pretty bad shape, guess they still know how to listen' Nadia remarked, "How was the experience? Surely, you enjoyed it just as you possibly did to others"
"W-What are you?!" The man yelled before coughing out some blood again,
"I've already answered that question?" Nadia reminded, "But that doesn't matter,"
Nadia then clutched onto his hair, and raised his head until they made eye contact with each other, "What matters is that you tell me who wanted the library? And you better answer me... Unless your life matters more than your money,"
"Okay, Okay! I'll talk! I'll talk!" The man confessed, "There's this bigshot in City - A, and he's been claiming a lot of properties from people. Most of them were bought out since he convinced the owners to sell their properties. He also happens to be a benefactor of the Heroes Association,"
"A benefactor? Well, that makes things complicated," Nadia said, "But why does he want to target a public library?"
"He said that the location was good, and it would bring in more money once the apartment building has been established! That's why he hired me. That's all I know, I swear!" The man answered,
"Care to tell me about the other properties he's been buying?" Nadia requested, and the man quickly agrees with her request,
Most of the properties this bigshot had bought out were family homes and business establishments. What's more, he aims for the attention of the wealthy while caring little for the poor.
Once everything was laid out, Nadia lets go out of the man and rises from the ground.
"Please... Spare me..." The man begged with his head down,
Nadia thinks about it, then makes a decision, "Then answer me this? Are you willing to do what I want you to do?"
"Y-Yes, I will do anything..." The man said,
"Anything, you say?" Nadia parroted,
"A-Anything," The man repeated,
"Good," Nadia said with an innocent smile, but her shadow extended across the alleyway, and the smile immediately falters to an uncaring expression and cold dead eyes, "Then perish,"
The man whipped his head up, and Nadia's shadow soon devoured the man whole before he could usher a word to her.
Once nothing remained, Nadia's eyes turned back to their original color and sighed,
"It appears that some things haven't changed," The Strict voice stated,
Nadia scoffs at those words, snapped her finger once, and Assassin appears with her knee on the ground.
"Your orders?" Assassin inquired,
"Take these books back to the apartment," Nadia ordered, and passes the books to Assassin, "I'm going to settle a certain matter,"
"Understood," Assassin replied, then goes back to the Apartment building in City - Z while Nadia cracks her neck a couple of times.
Then black smoke slowly crept up her body and she breathes out as it reached her face.
Somewhere in City - A
The big shot in question was spending his time in some luxurious restaurant. He would stuff his face with luxurious food, his colleagues were enjoying alongside him, and the waitress assigned to them seemed a bit uncomfortable with their company despite being on standby.
The bigshot simply celebrated the success of acquiring the properties of several people and his future wealth would soon accumulate soon.
But their supposed party went on, the bigshot's phone rang and he answers it with an enthusiastic look on his face, "Hello?"
"Hello," The bigshot's enthusiastic look suddenly faltered when he heard the voice of someone he's not familiar with,
"Who is this?" The bigshot questioned,
"Who I am doesn't matter... What matters is what happens to you from now on," The voice stated,
"What do you mean?" The bigshot inquired,
"News Channel..." The voice said,
The bigshot was confused, then orders the waitress to turn on the television that was in the room. What comes next is something that shocked him and his colleagues.
Apparently, the news state that evidence regarding the big shot's illegal activities has been brought out to the proper authorities and the public. Thus leading to an uproar among all involved in his activities and deeming him a wanted criminal for committing these so-called atrocities.
"I wish you luck on your next endeavor..." The voice said before hanging up,
The mood in the room had suddenly died and everyone was speechless at the fact that this bigshot's life was over in an instant.
Before long, he and his colleagues were arrested when the authorities arrive to arrest him and thus marking the end of his career.
Somewhere...
In a dark room, Nadia was seen sitting on a desk, and around her were blood-splattered walls and floors. But no bodies were seen in the room.
Her bangs covered her eyes, and her sword was riddled with blood. The very action she committed had caused her to recollect a certain time in her life.
The time she spilled blood on her hands...
The very thought of it still exists within her mind, and it caused her to grip her sword's hilt hard before easing down once her recollection was over.
She then sighs once, casts a large rune that ignites the room in flames, and left without a moment to waste. Once she reached the entrance, she conceals herself with magic and leaves the building unseen by anyone.
The floor she had ignited earlier, then sets off an explosion, and the crowd of civilians had drawn their attention towards it.
Nadia would return to the apartment building in City - Z and read her books until today had ended.
City - Z, the Following Day
Nadia was seen reading her book while she let the television on as she wanted to know whether or not the news regarding the big shot's downfall will be reported.
But instead, the topic in question was about some terrorist group who call themselves the Paradisers, and they were led by a Class B Criminal mostly referred to as 'Hammerhead'.
Apart from their motives and rampage, Nadia couldn't care less about them as she kept reading. Then she suddenly heard a door slam and assumed that Saitama had left the apartment building.
But as she kept reading, she then heard the reporter stating something that was considered a link to the Paradisers' motives.
"In other related news, a theory suggests that the distribution of evidence and destruction of a luxurious apartment is connected to the Paradisers," The Reporter stated, "thus leading to the speculation that this is the work of-"
Nadia shuts the television down and the look she wore was filled with disdain over the report. But a part of herself felt at fault for not handling that correctly.
Therefore, Nadia decided to go out and clear this conspiracy before it escalates any further.
City F
Nadia was standing on a city rooftop, and Assassin was fully divided.
"Find the group," Nadia ordered,
"Understood," Assassin responded and shatters in search of this group called the Paradisers,
She would sit by the edge with her legs crossed and wait for Assassin's report.
Minutes later, Nadia uses a telepathic link to contact them, "Have you found them?"
"None," "None," "None," Assassin individually responded as they go on searching since they don't share any sort of telepathic connection with each other,
"I heard civilians panicking about a terrorist. Apparently, it's that hero in your apartment and he's mistaken as one of them," One of the Personalities stated,
'Why is Saitama here?' Nadia wondered,
But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a loud crash in the distance and some sort of projectile destroyed some sort of idol of a large building.
Nadia then stood up, points her index finger at the position of the idol with one eye closed, and determined the trajectory of the projectile. Apparently, it leads to some large park and finds a lead there.
"Assassin, You may stop with the search. It looks like I've found where those ruffians are located," Nadia ordered,
"Understood," Assassin answered simultaneously with her other personalities,
Nadia then cracks her neck a couple of times, takes a few steps back, then followed with a few deep breaths before sprinting towards the edge.
As she pushes off, she transferred her mana to her foot and it launches her high up the air until she lands on another rooftop. She would repeat this until she was not falling her way towards the park.
City - F Park
Saitama wandered around to find the Paradisers for seeing his look, and then suddenly hears a loud crash just a few meters to his left.
When he turned, he stared at it to determine who it was. But his eyes slowly widen as he didn't expect Nadia to drop in completely unscathed.
After she brushed off the dust from her arms, waist, and legs. The two were now eye to eye with each other.
"Oh, Hello, Saitama-san," Nadia greeted,
"Um... Where did you come from?" Saitama questioned,
"I just jumped across a couple of buildings then landed here no problem," Nadia said, "To be honest, I wasn't expecting to run into you,"
"Are you alright?" Saitama asked,
"I'm fine," Nadia assured, "After all, A fall like that is nothing to me,"
"You're really strange sometimes," Saitama remarked,
"I could say the same thing to you if the circumstances were different," Nadia told,
Then all of a sudden, the supposed leader of the Paradisers comes running into them and stops when they turned to him.
"Oh, there you are," Saitama and Nadia simultaneously said,
"Who the hell are you? Are you here to join the Paradisers?" Hammerhead questioned Saitama,
"No, I'm just a guy who's a hero for fun," Saitama corrected, "But for personal reasons, I'm here to smash your heads in,"
Then Saitama peeks behind Hammerhead, "By the way, where's your group?"
"Then die!" Hammerhead yelled and punched Saitama straight into his face while causing a shockwave upon impact and even blowing the trees off of their roots.
Nadia had her eyes shielded with a single arm to avoid the dust from hitting her eyes. But when the dust settled she noticed Saitama completely unfazed by the blow despite the strength behind Hammerhead's augmented battle suit.
Saitama was let down about the suit and its capability. Then Hammerhead loudly told Saitama how much value these suits hold and then put his suit into full power as to test it on Saitama.
Then Hammer started spinning his attacks as he charged at Saitama, "Spin attack!"
But Saitama stops the attack by catching both of Hammerhead's fists with ease. The latter questioned who Saitama was but soon ends up losing his suit when Saitama broke it in one punch without hurting Hammerhead in the slightest.
However, when it revealed that Hammerhead had nothing underneath his suit. Saitama goes behind Nadia and quickly covers her eyes before she could even briefly see Hammerhead naked.
"Huh? What the?!" Nadia said, and gently grasped onto Saitama's wrists,
"Don't, He doesn't have anything underneath," Saitama said,
"Oh, okay..." Nadia understood and lowered her hands afterward,
Hammerhead simply shrieked when he lost his battle suit, then immediately backs away from Saitama, "W-Wait! I just wanted to get out of work..."
A few moments later, Saitama then responded, "Don't be bad anymore, okay?"
"Huh? So you're not going to kill me?" Hammerhead questioned,
"Just go already," Saitama said,
"Y-Yes!" Hammerhead quickly responded and then ran away like no tomorrow,
Once Hammerhead was long gone, Saitama finally withdrew his hands from Nadia's eyes and she wiped her eyes a couple of times.
"Thanks," Nadia thanked,
"Don't mention it," Saitama said, "By the way, are you going to chase after him?"
"No, I just wanted to clear a certain misunderstanding," Nadia said, "With the leader gone, I'll just find the members and use them to clear the misunderstanding instead,"
"Okay," Saitama said,
"Where did Hammerhead go," A Voice called out, and the two then turned to see a man wearing ninja attire and a long dark purple scarf, "There's no one left but you,"
'Did he just count me out?' Nadia assumed,
"Hammerhead went that way. Buck naked," Saitama answered as he point in the direction of where Hammerhead had run off,
A moment later, Saitama caught a high-speeding object thrown toward him and he caught it with a single hand.
He looks at it, then turns up before noticing a sword reaching toward his eye. But Saitama catches the blade before the tip could pierce his eye much to the aggressor's surprise.
Nadia just stared and was utterly surprised that Saitama was absurdly faster than this unknown person. Therefore, she now kept this piece of information in mind.
"Hey, you got it wrong," Saitama said as he breaks the sword,
"I got what wrong?" The man questioned,
"I'm not one of the Parasiders," Saitama said,
After a moment of silence, the man then spoke to him, "You're lying,"
Saitama then tried to explain and the man simply states that Saitama's bald head was proof that he was possibly a member of the Parasiders. Saitama then goes off about him being a hero for fun in case anyone recognized him.
But one sentence utterly broke him to the core, "Never heard of you,"
The wind blew before the three and Nadia noticed the expression Saitama wore, "Wow, He looks crushed,"
"Tell me about it," Nadia muttered, and the man heard her comment within hear earshot and felt confused,
In fact, he finally notices that she was standing there. But misunderstood him as some sort of Hostage to Saitama. But he had his priorities as he had a certain issue in mind.
Apparently, it had something to do with Saitama stopping two of his attacks. Then he goes to monologue about his life story and boasts about his abilities. He also can't have someone see right through his movements. Though Saitama remained absentminded about his monologue.
Then the man went on about his monologue while flashing just beside Saitama momentarily then appeared behind Saitama just meters away from him.
"Oh, come on. You just want to try out your moves on me. I can tell by that innocent smile of yours," Saitama said,
Then this ninja started jumping all over the place at high speeds than an ordinary person can achieve. But the confidence of this ninja soon dropped when he attempted to attack Saitama from behind and the latter somehow whipped his head around faster before the ninja could close in on him.
The ninja then spun around in mid-air and attempted to land a kick on him. But Saitama sidesteps and brought his fist up.
"Checkmate," Saitama said,
But due to the ninja slowly falling down on Saitama's fist, he accidentally carried his momentum from Saitama's fist into his lower region. Nadia cringed and so did the ninja as he began to register the excruciating pain.
WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES
PLEASE STAND BY
(A.N. Notes: This gag was added in the old version of the story to those who are new.)
Sonic then stands up with his thighs close to each other and tries to maintain a calm expression.
"I've worked every job from assassin to bodyguard. No ninja is more deadly. I am Speed o' Sound Sonic!" The ninja introduced himself, "But I will put my work on hold. Now that I've found such a formidable opponent, I'm dedicating myself to training until we settle this,"
A brief pause as Sonic groans before continuing, "Let me know your name,"
"Saitama," Saitama answered,
"Saitama! Next time we meet, it'll be your demise!" Sonic declared while his body kept whimpering from the pain,
"Okay," Saitama casually said,
"I, Speed o' Sound Sonic, the ultimate ninja, will bring you down without fail!" Sonic yelled,
"Train hard!" Saitama encouraged, while Nadia smiled at that,
With that, Sonic slowly left while limping bit by bit and the two just watched him go.
Once he was no longer in sight, Nadia sensed three of Assassin's persona arriving and she immediately turns to them.
"You're back," Nadia said,
"We've searched the entire park for you," Assassin said, "And we found several corpses of the Paradisers Group. As for their leader, he is nowhere near them,"
"Well, Saitama and I just saw him earlier. So don't bother trying to look for him since he's no longer a threat," Nadia said, "But you know what to do, right?"
"Yes!" Assassin said then immediately departs without another word,
After that, Saitama and Nadia went back to the apartment without any other issues in the matter. Although, people kept mistaking Saitama for a terrorist along the way since the Paradisers Incident is still fresh in the citizens' minds.
As for how Assassin cleared the conspiracy, they grabbed a few heads from the deceased Paradisers, put them onto wooden pikes, and displayed them by the entrance for all to see.
And the one in the middle was a note stating no relation to the Paradisers' Plan.
City - Z
Nadia decided to spend some time in Saitama's room as the latter was still a bit depressed after finding out that no one knows about him.
Due to this, Nadia took the luxury of cooking dinner for him and herself. Genos then arrives after repairs from his doctor and greets the two.
To pass the time, Nadia decided to fill the cyborg with the details of today.
"Speed o' Sound Sonic? Who is that? And who would possess such a redundant name?" Genos inquired,
"Don't know. He suddenly appeared, declared we were rivals, and took off," Saitama said,
"If he is a nuisance, I will get rid of him," Genos said,
"Well, You're hardly different," Saitama remarked, "Actually, why are you here again? Go home. It's not like we're related,"
"Sensei, I must become stronger-" Genos gets cut off when Saitama yelled, "Shut up!"
Then Saitama donned a shocked look on his face, "I'm now aware of a serious problem and am reeling from shock. So I beg you, go home for today,"
"A serious problem? What could cause a problem for someone as great as you? Please share with me?" Genos asked,
Saitama remained silent while his fingers are clasped together, Nadia had just finished cooking today's dinner and placed it on the table before sitting down on her side of the table.
"No one knows who I am," Saitama revealed, and Genos gasps at that,
Saitama then stated that he had been a hero for three years and defeated many monsters and organizations during that time. Despite all that, no one in the entire world knows about his doings.
"You want to know what he said to me? 'Never heard of you, Never'" Saitama recited, "Plus, everyone in town took me for a terrorist. They've forgotten how I beat those monsters for them!"
At the end of that, Genos seemed a bit curious on why no one acknowledges Saitama as a hero especially when the credit for stopping the Parasiders went to some hero known as 'Mumen Rider'.
Neither Saitama nor Sonic were mentioned in the news. Then it clicked him, "Sensei! Are you listed with the Hero Registry?"
After Saitama had finished his dinner, he and Genos went to the laptop while Nadia finishes her meal, picked up the plates, and started cleaning them in the sink.
'Hero Registry...' Nadia muttered, and momentarily glances at the two, 'I wonder...'
After she finished cleaning the plates, Nadia then went to the door, "I'll be going back to my room now!"
Nadia then enters her room, pulled out a laptop that comes with the room, and opened the Heroes Association Webpage. The first thing she needed to know about are the requirements to join.
To which, they were simple enough to perform. Then she checked the list of heroes enlisted in the Heroes Association ranking from Class C all the way up to Class S.
When she reached Class S, she then notices something of interest. The Fifth Placer in Class S.
"Child Emperor..." Nadia muttered and recalls her previous encounter with him, "Now I know what I want to do,"
Nadia then closes the laptop, turns off the light, and went straight to bed for tomorrow...
That is it for this chapter, everyone. As for the next one, it'll be in separate parts since I'll be making some original stuff in it.
Other than that, Let me know if you have questions and I'll do what I can to answer them, stay safe from the virus, and I will see you all in the next chapter!