Valentine's day, for most it's a day where love is at full bloom as couples go out on extravagant dates, swooning admirers confess their affections for their crushes, and long lasting relationships rekindle that raging flame of passion in a day of intimacy and sensuality. Then there are those who absolutely despise Valentine's day as they have no one to share it with and are left alone, while others who also despise the holiday dislike it because they think it's nothing more than a scam to get people to spend far too much money on jewelry and gift cards. But then there were the very few select people like Tatsumaki, who HATED the holiday with such a murderous passion that if it were a person she wouldn't hesitate to strangle them until she broke their neck. Though it wasn't because she never had plans or dates for the holiday, it was because she despised people as a norm but on days like Valentine's they greatly annoyed her, with all their cute pet names and lovey dovey bullshit as she would call it, the whole day for her was just another tiring experience she had to endure.
Sadly for the green haired esper love works in the strangest yet most powerful ways, as this year she found herself actually planning out how to spend Valentine's day with the only person she'd ever consider doing so with, Saitama. But as one could guess the bald strong man of the world also didn't care for Valentine's day, this had always been the case even before he became a hero, but after he did he received trucks upon trucks filled with gifts, love letters, and so on from his female fans, causing him to completely hunker down in his apartment until the day had passed. Which is exactly why as she planned out her day with him, she knew she couldn't treat this like a date nor could she call it that in front of him, if she wanted to make the most of it she needed to just treat it like a casual day of hanging out and nothing else. Thankfully she was not alone in this for she had the aid of her good friend Geryuganshoop, to assist her in formulating an absolute flawless plan that had no weaknesses or oversights whatsoever.
As for how she got him to even humor the idea of helping her with something like this, let alone actually being a part of the plan making process, all she needed to do was threaten to cut off some of his tendrils to make calamari out of them for him to agree. She'd never do something like that of course, but seeing as how he did just get his limbs ripped apart during the second attack on City J, it made for a good fear motivation.
"Alright so!" She spoke as she clapped her hands together "The first thing we need to figure out is how to keep everyone else from showing up and ruining this." She said.
"Do I really have to be a part of this?" Geryuganshoop asked with a sigh as he rested his head on one of his tendrils "I barely know anything about your friends or your planet's customs, if anything I am the LEAST qualified person to be helping you with your plan." He reasoned.
"I can't tell Fubuki or Mutsuko about this because then they'll get on my case about planning a date when we're not supposed to and blah blah blah." She replied with an eye roll "And do I have to remind you what will happen if you refuse to help me hm?" She asked.
"Please, I was afraid at first but there's no way you'd actually-" He began to say, only to be interrupted as a knife flew from her kitchen and went right past his head, going into the wall behind him.
Even though it hadn't been dangerously close when it flew by he still took a quick look behind him at the knife as it just rested there in her wall, before he then refocused his attention to her.
"So...how to keep your friends away is where we're at right?" He asked, causing her to smirk.
"Yup, we need to find a way to make sure me and Saitama aren't interrupted at all for the whole day, that way we can be all alone." She explained.
"What do you plan to do with him though?" He asked as he put a tendril to his chin "You aren't going to try and seduce him are you?" He asked.
"Seduce him, really?" She asked with a deadpanned expression "The only way anyone could seduce Saitama is if they had a blowout sale at some store, and even then the only thing they'd get would be him dragging them along to help him buy as much as he could." She explained as she crossed her legs "To be honest I don't really have anything weird or drastic in mind, I just want to spend the whole day with him without anyone else butting in, I get that then my plan will be successful." She said.
"So you don't plan to try to and further your relationship with him then?" He asked.
"I mean, if that happens somehow I won't be against it, but this is Saitama we're talking about and the chances of us suddenly becoming more than just friends after one day of hanging out, are the like the same chances of another alien invasion happening." She answered "By the way, could there be another invasion?" She asked.
"Highly doubt it, Lord Boros was the strongest person in all of the known universe, well until we found out about Saitama, everyone knew he was coming here to fight someone who he believed could hold their own against him, and since he and the rest of the crew are dead anyone else coming here would have to be a suicide mission." He explained.
"Makes sense." She agreed as she looked up at the ceiling "But getting back on topic, how're we gonna keep the others from ruining everything? any ideas?" She asked.
"Would any of them have any kind of plans that would keep them busy? or could you have them do something that might keep them busy?" He suggested.
"Hmm...not that I can think of...well maybe Fubuki, she usually hangs out with her group on holidays and stuff..." She replied as she continued to stare at the ceiling "...Wait, I got it!" She exclaimed as she looked back at him with widened eyes "YOU can distract them for me!"
"Me?!" He questioned as he pointed a tendril at himself "Aren't I suppose to be a secret? how would exposing myself for the sake of your love life be worthwhile in any way?!" He asked.
"I'm not saying you should expose yourself you dolt, all I'm saying is that you can distract them by using your esp while I hang out with Saitama!" She explained.
"But HOW would I do that? your sister and Kaemon know about me so they'd probably figure out I'm the one distracting them! plus there's also your friend who's a cyborg who'd probably be able to figure it out." He argued.
"Okay first of all me and Genos are NOT friends." She said with a very serious tone and a furrowed brow "And as for Fubuki and Kaemon we can put you into a situation where they wouldn't think it's you, but something else." She explained.
"Oh like what hm? do you plan to send them to a haunted building or something, then have me hide somewhere and make it seem like the place actually IS haunted?" He asked.
Taking a moment to consider what he just said, as that idea continued to float around in her head a devious grin slowly made it onto her face.
"Oh no, you are NOT stuffing me into some rundown shack and have me act as a ghost, that is where I draw the line!" He insisted.
In response to this, the remainder of Tatsumaki's knives as well as her forks all suddenly flew from the kitchen and past him into her wall, where they not only made a perfect outline of his body but a few of them were also placed in specific areas, such as his eyes, head, one for each of his tendrils, and the center of his body where she guessed his heart was.
"So...should I be a silent ghost or one that makes noises and does a creepy voice?" He asked, causing her devious grin to return.
With her plan well on it's way to being perfect Tatsumaki with a reluctant Geryuganshoop flew around in search of the perfect place for him to haunt. As for how she would get the others to go along with this, she planned to come up with some made up story about how a couple had died and on Valentine's day their souls could be found wandering through the building, and if anyone should disturb them they'll be haunted. Luckily for them though they managed to find a perfect location to make that story a bit more believable, an abandoned hotel that would've been commonly used by people looking to get "acquainted" with each other. All that was left to do now was to tell everyone, except for Saitama of course, about the place and suggest that for Valentine's day they should all check it out to see who among them was a chicken.
As for how she would explain her and Saitama's absence that would actually be easy, as everyone could buy Saitama not showing up because he'd want to avoid the outside world for day, and for her she could just say the association called her in to deal with some big monster or something. And with that, her master plan to spend the day alone with Saitama was complete, now she just had to wait for the day to be upon them to see it unfold.
"Ugh, is there NOTHING else on TV?" Saitama groaned as he flipped through the channels.
Like every Valentine's day the chrome domed caped crusader was just sitting in his apartment doing all that he could to pass the time. Unfortunately though as he surfed through the channels hoping to find a movie or a show to keep him distracted, all he found were things relating to the very holiday he hoped to ignore, such as romantic movies, gossip shows that talked about celebrity and hero relationships, game shows that were having couple themed episodes for the day, and etcetera.
"I wonder what everyone else is doing?" He thought as he rested his head in the palm of his hand "They probably have plans or something, otherwise they'd coming over right about now." He reasoned.
As if someone had been reading his mind a knock suddenly came from his front door.
"Hey bulb head you home?" Tatsumaki shouted from outside, revealing who it was.
"Yeah, come on in!" He shouted back, as he was honestly too comfortable to get up and open the door himself.
Hearing the door open and shut followed by her footsteps, the green haired heroine would come into view as she sat down at his table opposite from him.
"So, whatcha doin?" She asked the moment she sat down, resting her head in the palm of her hand as well.
"Nothing, just waiting for the day to be over." He answered causing her to sigh.
"Yeah I hear ya, there's this parade thing going on back home and it's going RIGHT past my apartment, I had to get the hell out of there before the music and the crowd drove me insane." She explained.
"So you decided to come here?" He asked.
"Where else? it's not like there's anyone hanging around your place anymore, it's nice and quiet here." She answered.
"That is weird though right?" He asked as he looked to his front door "They stopped showing up a few weeks ago, but I don't know why, did something happen?" He questioned as he looked back to her.
"Not that I know of, they probably just realized how annoying they were and decided to give you a break." She suggested.
"Hm, maybe, still it is kinda weird they just stopped coming." He went on.
"Would you rather they came back and started shouting your name over and over again like they did before?" She asked.
"No." He said immediately, expressing it in as serious of a manner as he was physically able to.
"Then stop worrying about it, just enjoy the peace and quiet." She told him.
Deciding to do just that as to not agitate her any further Saitama proceeded to lay down on his back and stare up at the ceiling, as there was nothing else for him to do at the moment. A nice serene silence then came between the two as Tatsumaki also wanted to enjoy how calm and peaceful his apartment was, and while she didn't do something as creepy or weird as staring at him, she did look at him here and there when she was sure he wouldn't notice.
"This is good." She thought as she closed her eyes to think "So long as Geryuganshoop keeps the others busy then everything will be fine, speaking of which I should probably send the text message to Fubuki." She decided, as she pulled out her phone and began typing.
"Doesn't look like she's coming either." Fubuki told the others as she finished reading the text her sister sent her.
"Wait what, she's the one that suggested we do this in the first place!" Mutsuko exclaimed as she put her hands on her hips.
Early in the morning Tatsumaki had sent out a text message to everyone in their group, except for Mumen Rider, and told them to come to her city so that they could check out a supposedly haunted hotel. And while everyone even Kaemon thought that this idea was weird in of itself, Fubuki especially found it strange because she knew her sister had a fear of ghosts, so she couldn't understand why she would suggest this.
"Yeah, but there's been reports of a monster out in the country that only S class can handle." Fubuki explained.
"So?! just get someone else to do it! like that weird fat guy!" Mutsuko argued.
"She was probably the first one they called about it, she's always getting made at the association for never giving her any work." King chimed in.
"True, though knowing my sister she probably jumped at the chance to avoid doing this." Fubuki admitted as she looked at the hotel "Don't tell her I told you this, but she's TERRIFIED of ghosts." She revealed.
"Wow really? Tatsumaki's afraid of spirits?" Kaemon asked, clearly surprised.
"But she's a psychic, wouldn't her powers be effective against ghosts?" Genos asked.
"I've never encountered a ghost so I really couldn't be sure, all I know is that she was at a festival once and claims she ran into a bald samurai ghost, and when she tried to use her powers against him they didn't work." Fubuki explained.
"Bald samurai ghost?..." The others all wondered, unknowingly in unison "Could that've been?...nah, there's no way." They all dismissed, as the thought of Saitama being the one to have scared Tatsumaki was completely ridiculous.
"At any rate, we all came out here to check this place out since none of us really had anything better to do, so why don't we just check it out for ourselves?" She suggested.
"Sounds good to me, to be honest I REALLY don't want to go home until today is over..." Mutsuko admitted as they headed inside.
"Really? how come?" King asked.
"Apparently the others managed to snag a lot of fan mail for today, Bunji had like a whole mountain of it..." She answered with a groan.
"And you didn't get any?" Genos inquired.
"Oh no I got like, a TON of fan mail, but I didn't want to read any love letters or confessions, it'd just be weird for me since I've only got eyes for Saitama." She explained.
"Likewise, I appreciate the adoration and admiring, but some people can just get a little too creepy and personal." Fubuki said, shivering a little as some bad experiences came to mind.
Proceeding to go further into the building to explore it, far above them on the very top floor in the last room was Geryuganshoop, who was waiting for them to get further in before he started to "haunt" them.
"Alright, almost time." He said to himself, as he closed his eyes to focus "Hope Tatsumaki's enjoying herself, she owes me BIG for this." He added as he began to use his powers.
Choosing to start things off slowly he made the doors at the entrance suddenly slam shut behind them, managing to catch them all by surprise.
"Whoa!" Kaemon exclaimed as they all turned around "What was that? was it a ghost?" They asked.
"No it's just the doors, probably the wind." Mutsuko answered with a scoff as she crossed her arms "I mean, what are the chances that this place is ACTUALLY haunted?" She asked.
In response to this, Geryuganshoop lifted two of the chairs that were in the lobby area behind the reception desk and threw them against the wall, managing to shatter them both and make a sizable dent into the wall from the sheer force behind the throw.
"Wow, that is some strong wind." King said jokingly, doing his best to keep calm and not freak out over what he just saw.
"That was definitely a ghost!" Kaemon exclaimed, causing Mutsuko to scoff once more.
"P-Please, that's just...the earth's gravity getting weird, happens all the time..." She said as she looked off to the side, also trying not to freak out.
"That was not gravity, it was psychokinesis." Genos corrected as he looked around them "Though I cannot determine the source, as the energy is coming from all around us." He noted.
"Yeah I sense it too..." Fubuki agreed as she looked around as well "This place's psychic energy is insane, it might even be greater than Tatsumaki's..." She said.
"Oh come on guys stop playing around, there's NO such thing as ghosts." Mutsuko told them, still trying to keep cool "I bet you there is a perfectly normal and rational explanation for all of this." She assured.
Once again, the moment she said this every book, pamphlet, piece of paper, and any other reading article suddenly flew around the room, swirling around all of them before gently landing back to where they once were.
"...Whelp, this was fun and all, but I'm too pretty to die so I'm gonna leave now." Mutsuko told as she bolted to the doors.
Grabbing onto the handles and doing her best to pull them open, she was met with some kind of force pulling them in the opposite direction, keeping them tightly shut.
"It's no use, we're trapped in here." Genos told her as he looked to the ceiling "The whole building is surrounded in a barrier of the same energy, and none of us are capable of breaking through." He explained.
"Well that's just great! we're stuck inside a haunted sex hotel while Saitama and Tatsumaki are free as birds! we're all going to die!" Mutsuko shouted as she went into full on hysteria.
"What's a sex hotel?" Kaemon asked as they looked to King.
"It's...a place where people go to...have fun." He answered, doing his best to avoid eye contact.
"Mutsuko get a hold of yourself!" Fubuki exclaimed as she grabbed the bug woman by her shoulders "There's got to be a way out of here, all we have to do is look around and we'll be just fine." She assured.
"Yeah good luck with that." Geryuganshoop thought as he stretched himself out on his room's bed "We're not leaving till the day's over, otherwise Tatsumaki will cook my tendrils for dinner..."
And so, with the group now at Geryuganshoop's mercy they all went on to explore the hotel, ensuring that Saitama and Tatsumaki would not be disturbed.
When a person suddenly does something that is out of character for that individual, those who know them personally might ask if something is wrong or if they are sick in some way. And while for the most part this is done in good humor, such as when someone loses their composure or perhaps is more forgetful than they normally are, Saitama was legitimately concerned for Tatsumaki's well being as she was doing something he'd never seen her do before. It had been almost two hours since she came over to his place to hang out, and while the only thing to happen during them was some light conversation here and there to break apart the soothing silence that enveloped them, it was what came next that shocked him to his core.
Having managed to make it to noon without any kind of interruptions from crazed fans or even the others dropping by, both heroes began to feel hungry and would soon come to discuss what they should have for lunch. Or at least that's what he assumed would happen, but the moment his stomach growled Tatsumaki had gotten up from her seat and moved into the kitchen, asking him what he'd like to eat. Immediately taken aback by the sudden display of consideration and desire to cook a meal that she was displaying, before he could even answer her she followed up by saying anything he wanted her to make would be okay, so long as it wasn't absurd or weird. And even though he wanted to see how far he could push her boundaries of what was acceptable, he decided to play it safe and simply suggest that they have some Yakitori, to which she agreed.
Now normally one would need a proper grill in order to make any worthwhile Yakitori, but thanks to Saitama's immense wealth he was able to get the best appliances that money could buy for his small homely apartment, which included a stove/oven that was just a few steps away from being a robot from how advanced it was. Luckily though despite it's advanced appearance it was actually quite simple and easy to use, meaning that neither he nor anyone else who'd never used it before would have any trouble at making any kind of dish they desired with it. Which brought him to the now, as he laid on his side unable to keep from staring at Tatsumaki who busied herself with making their lunch, all the while a look of concern and confusion present on his face.
"...Hey...Tatsumaki?" He spoke to gain her attention.
"What is it baldy?" She asked without looking to him, as she was focusing on cooking the meat, preparing vegetables and fruits as side dishes, and an array of various condiments and spices for added flavor.
"How come you offered to make us lunch? usually you make me do it." He asked.
"Because all you ever make are simple dishes, good but simple." She answered as she looked over her shoulder at him "And while you're probably expecting some Yakitori you could buy from some restaurant, the moment you taste this you're gonna be begging me for more." She said with a proud smirk as she focused back to cooking.
"Do you make this often then?" He asked her.
"Not really, every once in a while when I feel like having meat, but when I do it is fantastic." She answered, continuing to give herself praise.
"Oh." He simply replied.
Silence came between them as all of his questions had been answered, leaving her to focus on finishing their meal. Needing only another ten minutes or so before it was all ready to be eaten, she skewered the meat she had cooked on ten sticks that they would split evenly and put them on plates, dressing each dish with the vegetables and fruits she had cut up.
"And...done!" She exclaimed as she finished preparing them, topping both off with a bit more spice "Lunch is ready." She told him as she brought the plates over.
Carrying both condiments and beverages over to the table with her esp she set everything down on the table before taking her seat across from him. However, the moment his food was placed in front of him and he was able to see and smell all it had to offer, Saitama was almost salivating from how delicious it seemed.
"Holy crap, this looks amazing, and it's smells great too!" He complimented as he picked one of the kebabs up.
"Trust me, tastes WAY better." She told him as she too picked one up from her plate.
Biting into the meat at the same time Tatsumaki casually chewed it as she had eaten it before, but once the food hit Saitama's tongue his eyes widened from the unbelievable flavor that exploded from it.
"This is SO good!" He exclaimed, albeit a bit muffled as he took another bite "This is like, one of the best things I've ever eaten!" He praised as he began to chow down.
"Of course it is, I made it after all." She replied proudly as she put a hand to her chest.
"Seriously Tatsumaki this is great!" He continued to compliment "You should make this more often, or you could even teach me how to make it!" He suggested.
"Hm, maybe, I'll have to think about it." She told him.
Watching as he quite viciously devoured the Yakitori, Tatsumaki couldn't keep a proud and contented smile from appearing on her face, though it only stayed there for a few seconds as she didn't want him to notice.
"So far so good, everything's going according to plan." She thought to herself as she took another bite "Wonder how Geryuganshoop's doing?" She wondered.
"GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Mutsuko screamed as she flew through the hotel at dangerously high speeds.
Over the course of the past two hours a good deal of things had happened to the poor unsuspecting group of heroes, worsening their torment but admittedly providing some entertainment for Geryuganshoop. After his initial scare he waited for them to ascend to the second floor before he decided to separate them, using his powers he shoved each of them into a room and slammed the doors shut behind them. Now of course he had no intention of hurting them nor scaring them to the point where they felt their lives were in actual danger, but Tatsumaki had told him to do whatever he needed to keep them there without going overboard, which did give him quite a bit of wiggle room to be devious. This is what led him to the next stage of his haunting, with all of them separated he began to move the objects inside of each of their rooms around in random directions and at high speeds, successfully disorienting everyone except for Genos as he was mostly a machine.
Speaking of the cyborg hero, while everyone up to this point was beginning to feel scared and wanted desperately to get out, Genos on the other hand just went along with it like it was normal, that or he truly didn't care about anything that was happening period. Regardless of the stoic cyborg's demeanor though, once everyone excluding him was sufficiently disoriented he then used a bit of force with his powers to render them briefly unconscious, which then allowed him to move them all to different floors and rooms. As for Genos, seeing as how he wasn't disoriented and would definitely resist if Geryuganshoop tried to do the same to him, he simply left the cyborg in the same room and on the same floor, only letting him out once everyone else had been moved. And once the others did regain consciousness and realized they were somewhere different, this is when any semblance of composure or control flew right out the window as fear took hold of the reigns.
In total the hotel had seven different floors not including the lobby or basement, combining this with abilities he isolated how far their voices could travel so that they wouldn't be able to easily find each other, he furthered their feelings of isolation. But seeing as how Mutsuko was currently just flying around desperately trying to get out, it wouldn't be long before she accidentally flew right into one of the others, sending them both to the ground.
"Damn that hurt!" She exclaimed as she rubbed the top of her head "What did I?...KING?!" She shouted aloud, as she looked to the floor.
Laying on the ground beneath her was an unconscious King who had a quickly forming bruise on his head, indicating that they collided with each other head on.
"I am SO sorry!" She apologized as she got him to his feet "Are you alright King?" She asked as she gently slapped his cheek a few times to wake him up.
"I'm...fine..." He said in a slightly slurred fashion as he awoke "Did...did the ghost hit me with something?..." He asked as he looked at her, still very dazed.
"Um...yeah...it threw a vase or something at you." She lied, admittedly relieved that she was able to divert the blame "How about we go find the others and try to find a way out?" She suggested.
"Yeah...that sound's good." He replied "Good thing we decided to do this instead of just going to Saitama's huh?" He joked, managing to make her chuckle.
"Yeah, cause I'd rather be stuck in a haunted hotel than hang out with Saitama on Valentine's day." She replied as they headed for the stairs "At least Tatsumaki's busy too, otherwise it'd just be her and him alone in that apartment." She said, as they headed to another floor.
"Man I am stuffed." Saitama said with a blissful sigh as he laid down on his back "It's been a while since I've eaten that much food." He admitted as he put a hand on his stomach.
Finishing his meal before Tatsumaki finished her's, he still waited until she was done eating before he got comfortable again as he didn't want to come off as rude.
"See? told you you'd love it." She told him as she lifted everything on the table up with her esp "Want me to put these in the dishwasher or your sink?" She asked.
"Dishwasher." He answered.
Doing just that without leaving her seat she put both the dishes and their silverware into the appliance before adding the soap and turning it on.
"You didn't have to do that, I would've done it later probably." He told her causing her to roll her eyes.
"Probably? as in you might not have?" She asked.
"Eh, it's not like I'd be desperate for a plate or anything." He answered causing her to laugh.
"You really are hopeless you know that baldy?" She asked as she too laid down on the floor "Like, you are just so easy going it's baffling sometimes." She told him.
"Is that a bad thing?" He asked.
"Nah, if anything it's one of your best qualities." She answered as she put her hands behind her head "That and keeping a well stocked fridge for company." She added.
"Yeah well, when you guys stop by nearly every day it's better to have plenty of food so that way you don't eat everything I have." He replied.
"Please, you go to so many sales and stores despite being rich as hell, you'd never run out of food." She argued.
"True." He agreed as silence came between them once more.
Simply lying there and staring at the ceiling both heroes were honestly finding it hard not to fall asleep, thanks to the hot food that rested in their stomachs. But besides how awkward that would be if either of them suddenly fell asleep, something that kept both of them from succumbing to their comfort were questions that began to form in their minds.
"Hey...Saitama?" She asked, being the first one to break the silence "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." He simply replied.
"Have you ever had a date on Valentine's day?" She asked as she looked at him "Or at the very least, did you have someone confess their feelings to you?" She asked.
"Um...not that I can remember no." He answered as he put a hand to his chin "Come to think of it, I don't think I ever got a valentine's day card after grade school, when everyone just got them anyways." He recalled as he put his hand back to his side "Why do you ask?" He questioned.
"No reason, just wondered if I was the only one was all." She replied casually with a shrug "Though I didn't really have a normal life, so it's not like I had a lot of opportunities for that kind of thing." She admitted.
"Ah, that makes sense." He said "Hey, can I ask you something now?" He asked.
"Sure go ahead." She replied.
"Remember when you and Fubuki told me you had feelings for me?" He asked, causing her eyes to widen.
"Uh...yeah?" She answered, unsure if he had realized what was going on or not.
"Do you still feel that way about me?" He asked.
Taking a moment to consider how she should respond Tatsumaki felt like she was literally walking across a minefield, and if she were to say something stupid or something wrong it could completely ruin everything.
"Would...would it make you uncomfortable if I said yes?" She asked, after a minute or so of thinking.
"Not really, like I said the first time you and Fubuki don't act all crazy and psychotic like everyone else does, so I'm fine with it." He answered, which caused a wave of relief to wash over her "I was just curious was all, figured that after spending so much time with me you'd probably change your mind." He reasoned.
"Why would you think that?" She asked.
"Because I'm me." He simply answered as he moved his hands behind his head "Besides being strong and powerful I don't really have a lot going for me, I'm bald for one thing and I'm pretty boring a lot of the time too, plus I usually have this blank expression on my face, there's just a lot of things that I think you'd find irritating or annoying." He explained.
"You've...thought about this?" She asked, a bit surprised by his response.
"Eh, when I'm sitting around with nothing to do I think about a lot of stuff, just something that crossed my mind once." He answered.
"Well...to be honest that's part of the reason why I developed those feelings." She admitted. as she too moved her hands behind her head "Everyone I've ever dealt with has always had some kind of poker face ready to hide who they really were, most people do it to come off as superior while others just do it to hide how pathetic they are, either way everyone's wearing a mask." She explained as he looked at him "But you, you're like an open book, and while some people might say that's a bad thing it's honestly refreshing to know there's at least ONE person out there who isn't a deceiving, conniving, backstabbing asshole." She complimented.
"You really think so?" He asked.
"I just said it didn't I?" She asked with a slight smile.
With both their questions being answered they fell yet again into silence, though this time it would go on to last for the next several hours as both were just content with enjoying the peace and quiet. But sadly all good things are destined to end, for as the sun eventually began it's descent down from the sky and towards the horizon Tatsumaki decided this would be the best time for her to take her leave, as if she were to say longer she was worried her true motives might be discovered.
"Whelp, guess I'll head home before it get's dark." She spoke as she got up from the floor "Today was nice baldy, we should do it again sometime." She suggested as she headed for the door.
"Yeah, that sounds good." He agreed as he got into an upright position.
Watching her as she opened the door and stepped out, just as she was about to close it she stopped for but a second and looked back inside.
"Hey, thanks for today Saitama, I...really needed it." She told him before she then shut the door.
A bit surprised by the fact she used his name instead of one of her usual nicknames and insults, Saitama felt a small smile come to his face as for in all honesty, he too needed a day that was as peaceful and as pleasant as this. Meanwhile right outside the door, Tatsumaki couldn't keep possibly the biggest smile she ever had from stretching across her face.
"That could NOT have gone better." She thought proudly as she walked away from his apartment "I wonder how things went with the others?" She wondered as she headed down the stairs.
Drained, tired, terrified, and slightly relieved were all words that could describe Fubuki and the others as they were finally able to take their leave from the motel. After hours and hours of running around, screaming and jumping at every "ghostly" phenomenon that occurred, except for Genos of course, they all just wanted to go back to their homes and forget this day had ever happened.
"Thank god it is finally over..." Mutsuko groaned as she walked, about ready to just fall over and pass out.
"I'm so tired..." Kaemon said with a yawn, barely able to keep their eyes open "I just want to go to bed..."
"Me too, plus I got a headache from when the ghost threw a vase at my head." King replied as he put a hand to his forehead "How come I was the only one it attacked?" He asked.
"Who knows." Fubuki spoke with a sigh as she slumped her shoulders "All I know after this is that my sister's fear of ghosts isn't completely ridiculous..." She admitted.
"Does anyone else find it strange that it let us go?" Genos asked.
"What're you talking about you hunk of junk?!" Mutsuko questioned, her exhaustion causing her to be slightly irritable.
"It kept us trapped in there all day and there was nothing we could do about it, but then it just suddenly decides to let us leave?" He asked.
"Tatsumaki did say this only happened on Valentine's day, maybe because the day's over with it went away or something?" Fubuki suggested.
"WHO. CARES." Mutsuko said with widened eyes as she threw her hands into air "I just want to go home and take a nice long hot bath and completely suppress this entire experience so I never have to think about it ever again!" She exclaimed.
"Agreed." Everyone but Genos said.
Even though Genos still found it weird how everything just came to an end, he decided not to talk about it anymore as everyone else just wanted to put it behind them. As for Geryuganshoop, he waited until they disappeared around the street corner before he took his leave and headed back to Tatsumaki's apartment.
"That wasn't so bad." He said to himself as he flew, having admittedly enjoyed the experience "But if she wants me to do this again next year I'm just letting her take my tendrils." He decided as he didn't want to go through this insanity a second time.
And with that, Valentine's Day drew to a close, and while the others had a rather unfortunate and unpleasant experience, for a certain green haired esper it had been the best Valentine's Day she could recall.