"Again, thank you so much for coming to see this with me miss Blizzard!" Swim exclaimed zestfully, her face beaming with joy and excitement.
After the ordeal on the train Swim had gone by the Blizzard group's headquarters in order to see if she could maybe join, which she knew was a HUGE long shot as the group was made entirely of B class heroes. But due to the fact that Fubuki and her knew each other and had even gone out for lunch after having dealt with the bomb, not only did she allow her to join but the two of them quickly became friends as well. In fact she was quickly becoming a friend to everyone in the group, her personality and determination managed to light up any space she happened to be in, even if the group had just come back from a pretty intense monster battle she could make them all feel better with her smile and personality. This in turn led her to be seen as sort of the group's collective protege, everyone wanted to offer her tips and even some training to help her be a better hero, and to help her climb through the ranks faster than she otherwise would've.
Sadly she barely got to use any of what they were teaching her, as recently the number of monster attacks only suitable for B and A class heroes were increasing, and seeing as how she was still C and the group didn't want her to get hurt, she was forced to mostly stay at the base while they went out and dealt with any local reports. Which is why when the super fight tournament came around Fubuki thought it'd be a good distraction for her, so she managed to procure herself and Swim some tickets in order to attend. And even though she herself used her esp to be a hero and thus wouldn't really gain anything from watching martial artists fight, seeing how excited and happy this whole thing made Swim was enough for her to enjoy it as well, and who knows maybe there'd be some pretty interesting fights.
"You're welcome Swim, but you know you can call me Fubuki right?" She responded.
"I know, but since you're the head of the group and I'm still just a C class, I don't really feel comfortable with being so familiar just yet, I hope it doesn't bother you." She replied.
"No not at all, just wanted to make sure you knew you didn't have to be so formal." Fubuki assured her, as she looked around the stadium "There sure are a lot of people here though, kinda surprised by the turn out." She admitted.
"How come?" Swim asked.
"Well, not trying to insult the martial arts masters in any way, but considering how frequent monster attacks have gotten and all the different kinds of heroes there are fighting them, you'd think that they'd be more interested in those kinds of fights than these is all." Fubuki explained.
"But in those kind of situations things can get pretty dangerous, where as here in the tournament there's no risk of the crowd getting injured or even killed, it's a lot safer even if there isn't as much crazy stuff going on." Swim reasoned.
"Hm, true." Fubuki agreed, as she continued to scan the crowd.
Even though she was only doing so just to see how many people had come out to see this tournament, she felt her eyes widen as she found one familiar face among the sea of spectators, having been able to spot him due to how unique his appearance was.
"Genos?" She asked via telepathy, causing the other's eyes to widen and for him to start looking around.
"Fubuki? where are you?" He thought, as he himself possessed no means of thought transmission.
"Across the stadium, look in front of you and up a little bit, should see me and Swim." She instructed.
Doing as he was told Genos's cybernetic eyes quickly locked themselves onto the duo, which was to be expected as he could literally scan the faces of every single person in the stadium in under twenty seconds. However, instead of simply thinking something else to reply to her Genos got up from his seat and proceeded to leave, and while at first she found this odd she would soon know why as she felt someone tap her shoulder.
"May I sit with you two?" He asked, causing both her and Swim to jump in their seats from surprise.
"What the?! how'd you get here so fast?!" Fubuki questioned, as he had been out of her sight for less than five seconds.
"Most of the building is completely empty excluding food vendors and some staff, so I was able to run at full speed in order to get to you quickly." He explained, before pointing to an empty see next to her "Is this seat taken? or should I return to my previous seat?" He asked.
"No, by all means." She replied, still stunned by how fast her cyborg friend actually was.
"It's nice to see you again mister Genos!" Swim greeted politely, as he took his seat.
"Thank you, it is good to see you as well Swim." He replied with a slight smile, causing her to grin in return.
"So how come you're here Genos?" Fubuki asked, finding it miraculous that they'd both be here.
"As Saitama is busy due to his apartment's destruction, as well as dealing with the currently still at large hero hunter, I thought it would be a wise use of my time observing the combat styles and proficiency of martial arts masters." He answered.
"Why not just fight some monsters for some practice though? seems like you'd get better hero experience and knowledge from that." She questioned.
"This would be true, however recent reports filed by the association indicated that all monster presence has suddenly ceased, even attacks that were still ongoing ended abruptly with the monsters retreating." He explained.
"That...seems odd..." She said, as she had never heard of monsters doing anything like that.
"Oh look, I think they're about to start!" Swim exclaimed excitedly, causing them to focus back onto the arena.
"WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN TO THE TWENTY SECOND SUPER FIGHT TOURNAMENT!" A man dressed in a well tailored suit announced, as he gestured to one of the two entrances into the arena "THIS YEAR'S TOURNAMENT PROMISES TO BE A PHENOMENAL SHOW! AS NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE RETURNING CONTESTANTS AND EVEN A RETURNING CHAMPION, BUT WE ALSO HAVE QUITE A FEW NOTABLE NAMES BOTH IN THE ROSTER AS WELL AS IN THE AUDIENCE ATTENDING THIS YEAR! INCLUDING A POTENTIAL APPEARANCE FROM THE WORLD'S STRONGEST HERO!"
Upon hearing this the entire crowd roared to life, cheering as though they had just seen a fan favorite win a match.
"Wait, Saitama's going to be here?" Fubuki asked, admittedly surprised he'd even come to something like this.
"That does seem a bit strange." Genos agreed.
"Oh my gosh I might get to see One Punch Man in person!" Swim squealed excitedly.
"SO WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DELAY LET'S INTRODUCE THE COMPETITORS!" He began, as he then held his hand out towards one of the entrances "FIRST UP IS A NEWCOMER TO THE WORLD OF MARTIAL ARTS, THOUGH YOU MORE THAN LIKELY KNOW HIM FROM HIS WORK AS A HERO, PLEASE WELCOME THE CLASS A RANKED LIGHTNING MAX AND HIS MARTIAL ARTS STYLE HYPER KARATE!"
"Got my eyes on the prize." The well known hero coolly said, as he walked out into the open while gently waving to the crowd.
"FOLLOWING RIGHT BEHIND IS YET ANOTHER HERO, THOUGH THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF HER FELLOW COMPETITOR! FOR WHILE SHE HAS ONLY RECENTLY DECIDED TO ENTER A CAREER OF HEROICS SHE IS A LONG TIME MARTIAL ARTIST AND A WELL KNOWN ONE TO BOOT! SO PLEASE WELCOME THIS YEAR'S ONLY FEMALE COMPETITOR, LIN LIN!"
"Hope you boys offer a better challenge than the monsters." She stated with confidence as she walked out, her voice though seemingly brash was still reserved and elegant.
"THIS NEXT COMPETITOR HAS A NASTY REPUTATION WITHIN THE MARTIAL ARTS WORLD AS HE HAS SPENT MOST OF HIS TIME ATTACKING RIVAL DOJOS, BUT IN THIS TOURNAMENT OF MASTERS WILL HIS WAY OF THE CRUEL SCHOOL BE ABLE TO CARRY HIM? OR WILL HE RESORT TO SOME UNDERHANDED DEEDS? BEN PATS!"
"Heh, I got this in the bag." He said to himself, as he walked out with his arms crossed over his chest.
"THOUGH HE MAY LOOK HUMAN BE WARY OF THIS NEXT FIGHTER'S STRIKES! WITH THE SPEED AND PRECISION OF AN IRRITATED SERPENT AND THE DEADLY POWER OF IT'S VENOM, THIS MARTIAL ARTS MASTER IS A FAMILIAR FACE TO FANS EVERYWHERE, THE A CLASS HERO OF THE SNAKE BITE FIST, SNEK!"
"And here I thought I'd be the only hero to ever participate..." He thought quietly to himself as he walked out, admittedly a little happy to see other heroes participating in the tournament.
"ELECTRIFYING IS THE ONLY WAY TO DESCRIBE HIM! THOUGH UNLIKE LIGHTNING MAX HIS FLASHY MOVES DON'T COME FROM HIS SHOES, INSTEAD THEY COME FROM REAL BOLTS THAT HIS BODY NATURALLY CREATES, THE HUMAN GENERATOR HIMSELF, BOLTANE THE FIST OF THUNDER!"
"Hmph." He acknowledged with but a simple huff, as he stoically walked out.
From that point forward the remainder of the contestants were all fairly basic, not to say that they were uninteresting or seemed to be unfit for the tournament at hand, but rather that they just didn't stick out from the ones who came before or after too much, thus resulting in a fairly moderate reaction from the crowd. But then came the final three contestants, and while the first of them didn't get ANY reaction from the crowd, he did get a reaction from two people in particular.
"FINALLY WE MEET THE LAST NEWCOMER TO SUPER FIGHT! HAILING FROM THE SCHOOL OF FLOWING WATER CRUSHING ROCK HE IS THE LAST DISCIPLE OF THE FAMED MARTIAL ARTIST AND S CLASS HERO SILVERFANG! SO PLEASE WELCOME FIRST TIME FIGHTER CHARANKO!"
"Sup." Charanko greeted, as he with a blank expression walked out.
"Oh...my...god..." Fubuki and Genos thought in unison, as they stared right at him with expressions that were one part shock, another part horror.
"Is something wrong?" Swim asked the both of them, as they suddenly looked as though they'd seen something mortifying.
"AND NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE HAVE REACHED THE MAN WHO MANY SAY IS THE GREATEST FIGHTER IN TOURNAMENT HISTORY! A MAN WHOSE STRENGTH IS SO GREAT HE HAS ACCIDENTALLY KILLED OPPONENTS WHILE BARELY EVERY TRYING! THE MAN, THE DEMON, THE FURY OF HELL ITSELF INCARNATE, BAKUZAN OF THE DARK HELL KILLING JUTSU STYLE!"
"I WILL win this." He said in a deep and powerful voice, his visage alone enough to make anyone's spine shiver.
"SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST, THE FINAL CONTENDER OF THIS YEAR'S LINEUP IS A FOUR TIME CHAMPION WHO FOR UNKNOWN REASONS HAS BEEN ABSENT FROM THE LAST SEVEN TOURNAMENTS! WILL THIS FORMER STAR OF THE MARTIAL ARTS WORLD BE ABLE TO RECLAIM HIS FORMER POSITION AS REIGNING CHAMP? OR HAS HIS TIME AWAY LEFT HIS SKILLS RUSTY? OF THE DARK CORPOREAL FIST STYLE SUIRYU!"
"Oh! that girl's pretty cute." He said fairly carefree, as he walked out to the center of the arena and waved to all of his cheering fans.
"WITH INTRODUCTIONS FINALLY COMPLETE, LET THE TWENTY SECOND SUPER FIGHT TOURNAMENT BEGIN!" The announcer concluded, causing the whole stadium to roar in approval "CONTESTANTS! PLEASE RETURN TO THE STADIUM AND WAIT FOR YOUR SCHEDULED MATCHES! EXCEPT FOR YOU LIGHTNING MAX AND LIN LIN, YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE FIRST MATCH OF THE TOURNEY!" He revealed, causing another thunderous wave of cheering to be let out.
Upon hearing this the other fighters did as instructed and left the arena to wait their time, while Lightning Max and Lin Lin readied themselves for the fight to come. As for Genos and Fubuki, once "Charanko" began leaving they too rose from their seats and left, confusing the poor C class hero in their company even further.
"Hey wait! where are you guys going?" She called out after them, as she got up and followed.
"Great job Saitama!" Kaemon exclaimed as he entered, a look of excitement present on their face.
Thanks to a TV in the locker room King and Kaemon were able to watch everything that was going on outside without drawing any unwanted attention, which given the very precarious nature of their situation was for the best.
"For what? I haven't even fought yet." He replied.
"I know, but your disguise is working perfectly! no one knows you're not Charanko!" Kaemon explained.
"Which while good for us, is a VERY alarming statement on the intelligence of the population, and possibly the next generation..." King chimed in, a look of dread present on his features.
"Yeah yeah humans are getting dumber, anyways though what was it like? having the whole crowd fooled like that?" Kaemon asked, not wanting them to focus on whatever sad unpleasant thoughts that were currently in King's head.
"Honestly it was...relieving." Saitama admitted, now gaining King's full attention.
"How so?" He asked with genuine curiosity.
"Look, I know my disguise isn't the greatest disguise in history or anything, but if I can fool people with something as simple as this, then maybe I can start doing this regularly." Saitama suggested.
"Oh I get it, so when you go out you're not attacked by a sea of psychotic lunatics." King said, earning a nod in response.
"Yeah, I know it may sound weird given that I have a life most people would kill for, but when I walked out onto the arena and no one cheered for me at all it felt...nice." He admitted.
"That's not weird at all, you're the most famous person in the whole world Saitama, makes sense you'd enjoy being a nobody like Charanko." Kaemon told him.
For but a brief moment back at the hospital, Charanko felt a sudden wave of despair wash over him, as if he could sense that someone had dealt a blow to his self image.
"Even so, you still need to make sure nothing happens during the tournament, like your wig getting knocked off for even a second, if that happens the whole stadium will turn into a frenzy of maniacs." King warned.
"I know I know, I'm gonna focus on just dodging and only attack after the match goes on for a bit, I'll make sure no one ruins my disguise." Saitama assured.
Just then, before their conversation could continue the door to their locker room was opened with so much force it slammed into the wall, and while that in of itself surprised them it was who had done it that REALLY caught them off guard.
"Fubuki?" King questioned, as the raven haired esper stood in the doorway with a look of pure horror on her face.
"IT IS YOU SAITAMA!" She shouted as loud as she could.
"WAIT WHAT?!" The startled voice of another female shouted from behind her, soon followed by it's owner sticking her head into the room, revealing a brown haired woman "OH MY GOD, IT REALLY IS HIM! I THOUGHT YOU WERE JOKING!" She admitted.
"Saitama! what're you doing here?" Genos questioned as he too poked his head in from the hallway, despite his relatively inexpressive face it was clear he was just as shocked as the other two.
Thankfully being the one among them all to think quickly Kaemon shot out their kombu hair and wrapped it around their new company, before pulling them all into the room and closing the door behind them.
"GUYS! you need to be QUIET! if anyone finds out about this then we're completely screwed!" Kaemon shouted at them, though doing so in a whisper like volume as to avoid bringing any further attention to this room.
"Not until Saitama explains what is going on!" Fubuki replied, before turning around to look at him once more "WHY are you HERE Saitama?! you don't even know martial arts!" She asked.
"Well you see-"
"Saitama! have you also come here seeking to learn from the martial artists participating in the tournament?" Genos interrupted, issuing his own question.
"What? no, listen guys I-"
"Mister One Punch Man! er, Saitama!...wait, can I call you Saitama? or is that too personal? should I just stick to One Punch Man?" Swim asked in a rapid fashion, cutting him off a second time.
Much like before Kaemon was the one to think quickly, as they shot out their kombu yet again and wrapped it around their mouths.
"LET. HIM. SPEAK." Kaemon ordered, as they while understanding the others' confusion, was still annoyed they kept cutting him off.
"Thanks Kaemon." Saitama said, earning a nod in response from the other "Okay, so I have a good reason for being here, the hero hunter who's been in the news is a former student of the old man's, so I thought the best way to lure him out was to attend this tournament, as for how I was even able to enter his other student-"
"Charanko." King interjected, fully expecting him to mess up the other's name.
"Right, him, was attacked by the hero hunter and was sent to the hospital, and while me and Kaemon hadn't gone there to check on him, since we didn't even know he was there, he still ended up giving us his entry ticket for the tournament, so then me and Kaemon went and got the things I needed for this disguise, and so now here we are." He finished explaining, as he then looked solely at Swim "And just call me Saitama, whoever you are." He told her.
With their questions now having been answered Kaemon released them from their kombu, hoping that they wouldn't have to use it a third time.
"Okay, honestly that makes this whole thing make some kind of sense." Fubuki replied, as she crossed her arms "Still though, while I understand your reasoning and your plan Saitama, it isn't fair for the other competitors that you're competing, there's literally nothing any of them can do to even wind you, let alone harm you."
"Right? that's what I said." King told her.
"I know that, but what would you say is worse? the old man's student losing the tournament when he's so close to winning, or him managing to pull off a victory despite all odds even though everyone probably thinks he's a joke?" He asked.
Taking a moment to consider this he did make a decent point, it was no secret that despite his fame and renown Bang's dojo was easily the least enlisted of any known school for martial arts, and it wasn't even because of the ridiculous climb up to it. And while she and the others knew it was due to the very hero hunter that was currently causing trouble, it was still sad to see a fellow hero especially one they had become fairly well acquainted with have his life's passion be affected by it. Even so, having grown up with a sister like Tatsumaki she knew all too well what it was like to try your hardest at something only to never succeed, so as she thought about the other fighters even those who were obviously underhanded and undeserving to win trying to beat Saitama, she remained on her side of the argument.
"While it would definitely help Bang's dojo should you win the tournament, it isn't right to deny all of the other competitors who have worked hard for this their chance to win because their opponent is unrivaled, so I do think you should resign from the tournament." She told him firmly.
"I agree." Genos spoke, gaining their attention "While I respect your desire to help Bang, winning this tournament would be a poor use of your abilities, and could even raise suspicion as to whether or not it is fixed."
"It...does seem pretty unfair..." Swim chimed in, though fairly quiet as she didn't want to potentially upset the world's greatest hero.
With Kaemon seeming to be the only one fairly uncaring about the outcome of this situation, Saitama looked at the somewhat stern expressions his friends, excluding Swim and Kaemon, were giving him, causing him to let out a sigh in defeat.
"Alright, but at the very least let me get into the tournament just a little, it'd really damage the old man's reputation if I just forfeit or even lose in the first match, he should still get some kind of good attention from all of this." He reasoned.
"I suppose that's fair, but only a few matches, no more." Fubuki told him.
"Agreed." He replied.
"Phew, glad that this is finally worked out." King breathed with a sigh of relief, thankful that they weren't going to essentially cheat the tournament completely.
Suddenly, the loud and thunderous sounds of cheering and applause rang out through the TV that rested on the wall nearby, causing them all to look to the screen just as the voice of the event's announcer began speaking.
"OH MY GOD WHAT AN UPSET! THE A CLASS HERO LIGHTNING MAX HAS LOST HIS FIRST EVER MATCH!" He shouted out in surprise "NOT ONLY THAT BUT IT WAS A PRETTY ONE SIDED FIGHT TO BOOT! AS LIN LIN MERELY DANCED AROUND HIS LIGHTNING FAST KICKS AND DELIVERED BUT A FEW PRECISE YET DEADLY STRIKES, MAKING HER THE VICTOR OF THIS FIRST FIGHT OF THE TOURNAMENT!"
"Not bad, but even with your special shoes you're no match for experience." She told him, though not in a condescending way, before she turned around walked away from the arena.
"Wow, Lightning Max lost? that's surprising." King admitted.
"Eh, the dude seemed like a poser, all flash but no skill." Kaemon argued.
"Speaking of the matches though, when are you scheduled to fight Saitama?" Genos asked.
"Hm? oh, I actually don't know." He admitted as he looked to Kaemon "Hey, you still have the fight card?" He asked.
"Mhm! right here!" They replied, as they grabbed it from the table and handed it over.
However, before he could look over all the names and find where his was on the docket, a knock from the locker room's door gained his attention.
"You're up next mister Charanko!" A member of the staff spoke from the other side.
"Huh, perfect timing I guess." He said, as he looked back to Kaemon "Here, you can have it back." He told them while handing it back.
"Remember, make sure your disguise isn't ruined." King reminded.
"Yeah yeah." He replied, as he walked out of the room.
The first sensation one feels when waking up can dictate their mood for the rest of the day, if they wake up in their warm and cozy bed for instance they'll feel happy, content, and relaxed, potentially leading to a very pleasant feeling to be in them for the rest of the day. Alternatively if you were to wake up somewhere cold, perhaps somewhere uncomfortable, or even just waking up in the middle of work or class discovering you dosed off unintentionally, can cause feelings such as irritation, anger, displeasure, disgust, and many more unpleasant emotions to overtake your mindset for the day to come. But then there was the unique situation for the house of evolution's residents, specifically doctor Genus's creations, for while most of the time they would find themselves waking up in their comfy cozy beds, there would be the rare occasions where they might find themselves instead waking up in a gene bath. And should this happen they know immediately that something went wrong, whether or not they can even remember what put them here isn't important, for the only time they wake up in the massive cylindrical compartment is when they've sustained a great deal of damage, or even died in the field.
Such was the case for an unfortunate Bunji, who was still resting within the bath due to the extreme nature of his death. Now the actual cause of his demise wasn't too sever, least not by the standards the house usually dealt with, however what made it bad was that Buji's body hadn't been found immediately when he died, so by the time the corpse was delivered to the house it was far too late to simply heal him. This in turn meant that Bunji would be cloned, and while most might see cloning as perverse science, defying the force of death and what not, for a world such as this where you could literally die at any given second, technology like this was not only a blessing, but a necessity. And never was this becoming more so apparent to both Bunji and the other members of the house than it was now, for if Bunji had fallen in battle against a fairly ferocious monster, or even god forbid One Punch Man for some reason, then this would all make a bit more sense and not be so dread inducing.
But the truth was it hadn't been some massive monster or the world's strongest hero who had killed him, the being responsible for having ended his life who they learned the identity of after viewing his memories, was none other than the alleged hero hunter. And from what doctor Genus and his clones could discern, the man whose smug yet deathly terrifying grin which stared at the from the monitor it resided on, was entirely human. Yet while the doctor and his clones were focused on figuring out how a seemingly normal human regardless of power or skill was able to defeat Bunji so easily, the others were unable to take their eyes away from their fallen comrade as both sadness and anger filled their forms.
"That bastard." Chikara growled, as he balled his hands into fists "I swear I'm gonna find this son of a bitch and beat his ass to pulp."
"Count me in." Atomu said, as he looked over to the other "Whoever this hero hunter is, he's gonna pay for what he did to Bunji."
"If you guys are going after him so am I!" Mutsuko exclaimed while brandishing her claws "I'll skin this asshole alive for what he did!"
"Count us in to!" Suguru, Genjiro, and Fujio all said in unison.
"No sense in being the only to be left behind, I'm in." Kamakyuri chimed in.
"Good, then I, Kamakyuri, and Fujio can all search from the high ground since we're nimble and cover both the sky as well as the rooftops quickly, Atomu, Suguru, and Chikara will cover the ground, and Genjiro will of course follow in the dirt, and once we find him we all attack at once and then-"
"ENOUGH!" Doctor Genus shouted suddenly, interrupting Mutsuko and catching them all of guard.
Watching as their creator gripped the sides of the control panel in front of him, he slowly released his hold and turned to face him, the single most serious and stern glare present on his face that they had ever seen.
"All of you seem to forget what happened when you tried to fight the Sea King, even though he was a monster and this current foe is human, that detail is irrelevant, as in both situations you lost." He reminded them, while looking towards Bunji "Now while only Bunji has fallen to the hero hunter thus far, so it is not the exact same as before, the fact remains that IF you all go after him, you. will. die." He went on, before going silent for a moment "And even though I can clone you, even though death is not permanent, I still cannot bare the sight of your corpses being wheeled in here, only to then be tossed away as I make new bodies for your stored collective sentience, not again." He admitted, before turning his back to them so they couldn't see his face "There was a time that you were nothing but pawns to me, mere tools to further my own desires to rid this world of it's imperfections, but after seeing the people you've become, the personalities and intelligence you've developed, I no longer see you as just my creations, the products of my genius, I see you as my family." He revealed, causing all of their eyes to widen "So please, I ask you, even though I know it will be hard for you to do...please...just stay here..." He directed, his voice sounding more defeated than it ever had before.
Truly at a loss for words at what their creator had just told them, never in either their memory or that of his clones had he ever shown such emotion. But as he stood there with his back still turned, waiting to see what their response to his order would be, though he was not crying nor looking at them with a pleading gaze, they knew this was by far the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, for it was the first time he ever cared enough about something to show even the slightest emotion.
"...Very well, if that's what you want." Atomu spoke, being the first to break the tense silence that had taken the room "We will abide by your order and remain here, until given orders to do otherwise, right guys?" He asked, as he looked to the others.
"Right." Mutsuko said simply, still a bit stunned by everything he had said.
"Understood." Kamakyuri replied with a slight nod.
"I guess it would be a little crazy of us to just rush out there..." "Yeah, especially with all the monster attacks recently too, we might stumble into something even worse." "It probably is for the best if we remain here." Fujio, Suguru, and Genjiro all agreed.
"Chikara?" Atomu questioned, as he was the only one remaining silent.
"...No." Chikara spoke, causing all eyes to fall on him "I'm not just gonna sit here while that asshole's out there prancing about acting like he's some tough shit, someone's gotta put his ass in it's proper place." He told them as he began to leave.
"Chikara wait!" Mutsuko called out, hoping to keep him from leaving.
"Let him go." Doctor Genus spoke once more, which did make him stop just as he was going through the doorway "I can't stop you, or any of you from leaving, I just hope that even with your power Chikara you go forward with caution, for there'd be no sense in you leaving just to end up like Bunji." He told him.
Taking one final look back at the feline who remained still and asleep within the bath, the very blood in his veins began boiling out of rage, compelling him to keep walking.
"Trust me, when I'm done there's only gonna be a crater left." He promised, as he walked down the hall and out of sight.
"Hey old dude!" The young boy shouted, as he ran towards the park.
After his fight with beast king Garou decided to take it easy for a bit, and as strange at it may seem he was quickly becoming fond of this particular park. Whether it was due to the scenery, maybe it was how fairly quiet and somewhat isolated it seemed to be at times, there was just something about this spot in particular that helped him to relax. Except for this kid, who while wasn't the worst company in the world, REALLY needed to freaking learn to stop calling him old dude, wasn't his fault he was born with naturally grayish hair.
"Just when I thought I'd finally get some peace and quiet, you just HAD to go and ruin it huh?" He asked, as he lazily opened one of his eyes to see the somewhat panicked boy approach him and the bench he sat on.
"Are you okay?!" The boy asked, lightly huffing as he was slightly out of breath from running "There was a big fight not too far from here! and from what they're saying on the news Beast King was badly injured, maybe even killed!" He exclaimed.
Although a part of him wanted to respond with, "Yeah, I killed that dumbass cat.", even Garou knew saying such a thing especially to a hero crazed kid like this was a stupid idea, so with a reluctant and heavy sigh he sat himself upright and opened his other eye.
"Listen kid, don't listen to the people on the news, they don't know shit." He said as he pointed to the hero guide, which sure enough was clutched tightly in one of the boy's hands "Open up that guide of yours and take a look at his hero page, you'll see what I mean." He told him.
Doing so immediately the moment he was instructed, the boy flipped frantically through the pages until he found Beast King's, and after reading through the few paragraphs that were written on it, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh wow! so he can clone himself!" He realized.
"Mhm, even if he were killed by some cool monster he's not like DEAD dead, think of it more like when people go in for surgery and so they get put under by the doctors, but by the end they wake up good as new, it's like that." Garou explained, even though he knew absolutely nothing about what he was saying.
"Man, you sure are smart old dude." The boy complimented, though that last bit was what Garou heard the most.
"Yeah, real smart, say can I see your book again? you know for helping you out and all?" He asked.
"Huh? oh, yeah sure." The boy answered, handing it over to him.
Taking the book from him Garou began flipping through the pages the held only A and S class heroes, trying to find the next best target for him to go after.
"Hey, who's this guy?" He asked, as he showed the page to the boy "Why is he wearing a dog costume?"
"Oh that's Watchdog man! he's an S class hero who stays in one city, unless he's called for something with the rest of S class." The boy explained.
"Oh really? so he's just in that one city, all the time, no exceptions except for that?" Garou questioned.
"Mhm, they say there's no one better at killing monsters than him! apart from One Punch Man of course, they even built him a perch in the middle of the city for him to rest on!" The boy replied.
"A literal sitting target..." Garou thought, as his usual teeth filled smile came to his face "Alright then, I guess I'll go see him for my next autograph." He said, as he handed the book back to the kid.
"Are you making a collection of hero autographs?" The boy asked, as this was the first time he said something like that "If you are, can I see it when it's done?"
"Heh, sure kid, once I'm done you'll be the first person who get's to see it." Garou promised.
The association, especially in recent history, has dealt with and seen a fair amount of strange and unusual things. About a decade ago the mere idea of alien invasions, creatures from the sea, and even kaiju sized monsters only existed in works of fiction, sure there were a few odd things here and there but never to the level they are now. Yet even with this being the case the last few days had been truly baffling for the association and all of it's branches, not only had monster attacks and encounters increased by a fair amount, there was also a self proclaimed hero hunter roaming the streets seeking out any member of the organization to lay waste to. But now something even stranger had suddenly happened, after the recent attack on City S which thankfully was resolved due to the intervention of an unknown hero, all monster attacks and sightings across the board just disappeared completely.
One moment every branch and even HQ were being flooded with reports and encounters from both heroes and civilians alike, but then right as the massive centipede monster had been reduced to nothing they all just...went away. Now of course this seemed FAR too convenient to just be an intervention from heaven, or just perhaps a statistical probability that was in their favor, thus causing the association to not only begin investigating this entire situation with every resource they had, but also to establish a temporary rule.
"All heroes below the ranking of S class are required to form groups comprising of at least five in number, any monsters slain by a single, few, or all members of the group will receive full credit along with the other members of that group, additionally rankings as well as pay increases will change depending on the severity of the issue, any heroes however who are rendered inoperable due to their lack of a group will receive both a demotion in ranking and a deduction in salary, so if you do not wish to be part of a group then please stay inside."
If such a rule had been instated at any other point in time then many, if not all of the heroes in the organization would be outraged. But given that the reasons behind this temporary rule were just to ensure every hero's safety, and to make sure they would be prepared for any encounter whether it be with a monster or even the hero hunter, they were all accepting and even approving of it. This however did lead to a new issue, that being who was going to be in what group, as there were no stipulations or rules dictating that said groups had to be comprised of heroes from the same class. For a brief, yet frenzied few hours, heroes across all the cities scrambled to form groups with heroes they both trusted as well as knew personally, to ensure the best possible cooperation when it came to patrols and possibly even battle.
Though as the groups were quickly established those without friends, renown, or respect were left by themselves, and seeing as how they didn't just want to let others get all of the glory and credit, as well as the groups who still had not reached the mandatory five needed more members, a few awkwardly formed groups came to be. This is sadly what happened to two female heroes, both of whom had immediately sought each other out as they were good friends, but after doing so found there were very few heroes remaining to make their group. The first of the females was a former olympic athlete most would call a tall glass of water, not only because she was VERY tall for a woman but also because her physical appearance was very attractive, she was the up and coming newest star of B class Captain Mizuki. The other who was just as tall as the former though was FAR more built in terms of muscle mass and overall physique, the only female member of the predominately male team of heroes known as the Tank Top Army, Tank Top Girl.
How the two of them managed to not only meet but become good friends is honestly very simple, both went to the same gym and were always the first ones to arrive and the last ones to leave, this of course led them to talking to each other quite a bit and learning that they had shared interests. Not only were both very passionate about physical fitness and being great heroes, but they were also both dedicated fans to the world's strongest hero, though to be fair that wasn't really an uncommon thing, like at all. Still the two had hit it off and became not just best friends but also training buddies, their highly competitive natures combined with their desire to push their bodies to the limit made them stand out in any crowd, and also scared the ever loving shit out of their fellow gym goers. Then the monster attacks suddenly began to intensify, and with every city seeming to have some kind of encounter to deal with, both women found themselves focusing on separate monsters at separate places in the city.
So when the monsters suddenly decided to cease in their attack, even though for many they were either winning or just holding their ground quite well, this meant that by the time the new rule's announcement went out the two's first priority was to partner up with each other, which in of itself used up a fair amount of time. After that they spent the next hour or so trying to find any heroes not already locked into another group, eventually though finding the three needed to make their group official, were NOT the three they would have ever chosen willingly. Not to say that they were repulsive, off putting, or useless mind you, but seeing as how the other three of their group were all C class, this meant that if something REALLY imposing were to appear they wouldn't have an A class level of power backing them up. But regardless they sought to make the best of it and hopefully get some work done, and thus the rag tag team of Captain Mizuki, Tank Top Girl, Gas Mask Cowboy, D-Pad, and Gearsper was formed.
"Okay!" Mizuki exclaimed with authority, as she had all of them gathered in a circle "The best way we can find monsters or any other criminals that may be about is if we focus on densely populated urban areas! as it is a well known fact that monsters prefer to strike places where the likelihood of casualties and publicity is very high!" She told them.
"True, but seeing as how all the monsters just suddenly decided to up and leave, it might be best to search areas with the least amount of people, to avoid detection." Gasmask Cowboy suggested.
"I agree, if they wanted attention they would've continued to do as they were, but with their abrupt stop and sudden disappearance, it's more than likely that they are either regrouping or perhaps just waiting for when the heat dies down." Gearsper agreed.
"This is true! okay then to the abandon areas we go!" She exclaimed as she turned on her heels to lead the way "Go team!" She added, before walking off in that direction.
Following behind her the group would make their way from a fairly trafficked part of the city to a more secluded district. And while the district in question wasn't completely abandoned, there were still a few buildings some that were rather sizable that had no occupants or businesses within them, which could make them the perfect places for monsters to hide.
"You sure about this?" Tank Top Girl asked her, though in a quiet volume so the other three couldn't hear "If there are monsters in this part of the city they've got a lot of places to hide, which is perfect for setting up potential ambushes."
"I know, but I checked the reports for earlier and the monsters that were sighted aren't bad at all." Mizuki assured, as she began to think on what they were exactly "Let's see, one report said that there was some kind of big snake slithering around along with another reptile looking monster, and then the other one I saw said there was some crazy lady with a whip in bdsm attire walking around trying to whip people." She listed.
"Huh, that...honestly sounds pretty easy." Tank Top Girl admitted.
"Right? all we have to deal with is a snake, some other reptile looking thing, and a crazy bondage lady, we got this!" Mizuki exclaimed excitedly.
Unbeknownst to the group as they ventured further into the district, a pair of eyes with slit pupils watched them from the shadows, before vanishing into the dark veil their owner resided within.
"God, when is something INTERESTING going to happen?!" Tatsumaki groaned aloud, as she laid on her couch.
Just as things seemed to be getting interesting with all the monsters popping up, just as quickly did they go back to boring as those monsters suddenly ran away. And while she with her S class status was exempt from the temporary group rule, meaning she could easily just go flying around until she found something to do, she had honestly felt a little bad that Geryuganshoop had to be confined to her apartment for the time being, even more so now with the association on high alert. Yet even with the good side of her heart deciding to show itself a bit by keeping him company, this didn't keep her from letting the world know about her displeasure, much to his dismay.
"You know, we could easily go out and look for something to do, I can cloak you know." He offered.
"No we can't, if things were a bit calmer than yeah we could, but with the association on high alert that means they've probably got Metal Knight releasing his stupid drones into the air, and no matter how good your camouflage is they WILL spot you." She assured.
"Then can we at LEAST turn on the television and find something to keep your mind off of it? because, and I mean no offense by this, your complaining makes me wish I had died on that ship." He replied.
Even though she wanted to come back with a sarcastic remark, or even one of her usual death threats which she wouldn't follow through on, even she had to agree with him that her complaints had gotten a bit grating, and so she relented and began flipping through the channels of her TV once she turned it on.
"Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope." She said, all the while doing so just as fast as she was changing the channels.
"My god how are you even able to see what is on any of the channels?" He asked her, as it seemed like she wasn't even giving a single one half a second to win her approval.
"I'm not, I just know it's all bullshit." She told him, causing him to roll his eyes.
Continuing to watch the bombardment of brief and colorful images flash across the screen as she clicked, right as she passed by another channel his eyes widened from shock.
"WAIT!" He shouted at her, causing her to stop "GO BACK BY FIVE CHANNELS! I THINK I SAW SOMETHING!" He insisted.
Unsure as to what he was going on about she did as he requested and went back just in case, only to find that five channels backwards landed them on some stupid fighting tournament.
"What the hell is this? why do you think I would care about this?" She asked him with a glare.
"JUST WAIT! HE WAS THERE A SECOND AGO!" Geryuganshoop continued to shout.
"WHO?" Tatsumaki questioned, now shouting as well.
Simply pointing to the TV as to keep her focus on it with him, they both watched the broadcast for a few seconds, after which her eyes shot open so fast it was like her eyelids were trying to escape.
"IS. THAT. SAITAMA?!" She shouted in disbelief, as a blank expression, simple looking, vacant stare having man stood in the arena.
(A/N: Gonna be honest with you, I was not typing out all of those introductions, I am also not going to be doing every single fight in the tourney, while I promised these chapters were going to be longer, that is not worthwhile text more so padding, so yeah, hope you understand)