Hey guys. Did you see the latest manga chapters? Before I felt like I was underselling Tatsumaki a little bit, but now I'm like wholly fuck dude. Are you shitting me? Anyways, happy reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Punch Man. I could never come close to the absolute god tier shit One and Murata pull off.

Chapter Four: Shame

In all honesty, Tatsumaki had no idea where to go. She couldn't go home. She had no home now. Those idiots destroyed it. She could go to Fubuki, but Tatsumaki didn't think that was a good idea for two reasons. One, the Hero Association probably would search there, and she didn't want to involve Fubuki in this mess. Two, she didn't even know if Fubuki would want her there. They hadn't talked since the whole Psykos ordeal, and they weren't on good terms. Plus those B-Class losers would probably try to attack her again. Not that she couldn't handle them.

So Tatsumaki just flew. In the one direction she was going. Cities went by underneath. Hours passed. And still Tatsumaki was lost.

Finally, Tatsumaki saw a familiar structure. High in the mountains, away from the Cities, was a famous martial artist's dojo. Tatsumaki landed on the stone steps, and walked to the front door. She raised her fist to knock.

But she didn't.

Bang's dojo was a sacred place. A place passed down from generation to generation. It was a place of peace and calm. It was a temple of mastery over the mind and body.

Tatsumaki was neither. She raged against her enemies, crushing them with brute force, again and again until they died. Silverfang martial prowess was designed to turn an opponent's strengths into their downfall.

Tatsumaki didn't belong here. She didn't belong anywhere.

Before she could turn to leave, Bang opened the door. He seemed surprised to see her there, eyes downcast.

"Ho, Miss Tatsumaki, what brings you to my humble dojo?" Bang asked with his normal youthful energy, despite his age.

Tatsumaki looked up at him. When he saw the emotion in her eyes, Bang halted.

"Would you like to come inside Tatsumaki?" Bang asked gently.

Swallowing, she nodded.

Bang opened the door to allow her inside. Tatsumaki rose off the floor and entered the dojo.

It was mostly bare, with little furniture. There was some training equipment in the corner, looking dusty and unused. The wooden floor seemed polished and shiny, instead of the rough terrain she was expecting. The whole place had an ancient, regal feel to it.

"Would you care for some soup Tatsumaki? I'm afraid I don't have much here, I was on my way to get food when you stopped," Bang informed her.

Tatsumaki shook her head slowly, continuing her look around. Bang cocked his head inquisitively at her for a moment, then shrugged to himself.

"My student Charanko is outside. He has put in quite the effort to better himself after Garou showed him up," Bang chuckled.

Tatsumaki offered no reply.

"Tatsumaki, if I may be so bold, why are you here?" Bang asked, looking at her.

"No reason. I should be on my way really," Tatsumaki said. But she made no move to leave.

"What's bothering you Tatsumaki," Bang urged her, looking Tatsumaki in the eye. She avoided his gaze.

"Tatsumaki, come on, I'm no Hero anymore. I'm just an old man in the mountains. You have nothing to worry about," Bang told her.

"I know that!" Tatsumaki snapped. "It's just…"

Bang looked at her expectantly.

"They fired me ok! The Hero Association fired me! Does that make you happy!" Tatsumaki shouted.

"Fired you? Whatever for?" Bang said with genuine surprise on his face.

"They said I'm 'uncontrollable'. They don't want me because they think I do more harm than good. They…they called me a monster," Tatsumaki said, choking back a sob.

"Ah. I see. I can see why that bothers you."

Tatsumaki snapped her heads toward him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've always been at the top of the Association, haven't you? The Queen of Heroes, so to speak? You've been given everything. Respect, power, notoriety. You weren't just at the top of the Hero Association, you were on top of the world.

"But all of a sudden, you've had all that stripped away, and degraded to something less than human. I suppose everyone would have a difficult time with that."

Tatsumaki stared into the wall. Bang didn't know the real reason why she hated being called a monster. But the rest was true to a certain degree. What was she now that she wasn't a hero?

"Yeah, I suppose," Tatsumaki said in a faraway voice.

"Well then Tatsumaki. You're welcome to stay here if you'd like," Bang offered.

Tatsumaki bowed her head. "Thank you Bang."

Bang offered her a smile. "My pleasure. There's another guest here besides me and Charanko, so if you see him, please don't kill him. I still need to get food for tonight, I'll be back later."

Tatsumaki stared at his back as he left. Who else was here? Tatsumaki supposed it wouldn't matter. She decided to look around a little.

Through the back door was a large stone area, obviously intended for many students at once. Only now, there was a single student. Tatsumaki ignored him, figuring it was this 'Charanko' person Bang mentioned.

Tatsumaki decided it wouldn't be worth it to interact with this person. Tatsumaki left through the door leading to the left of the dojo. The pathway spiralled up and around the mountain, leading up to the peak. There was a small pond there, shaded by an ancient tree. Underneath the tree sat a figure. It looked up at her as she approached.

Suddenly, Tatsumaki realized it was a monster. It was hideous. Easily one of the most deformed monsters she's ever seen. Tatsumaki gathered her psychic energy and prepared to crush it to pieces when it said, "So you've come to kill me Tatsumaki?"

Tatsumaki was confused for a moment. The monster sighed. "I figured they'd send you. I was hoping Saitama would come around and claim my kill, but it seems not."

Tatsumaki gritted her teeth at the mention of the baldy's name. Finally Tatsumaki realized who she was looking at.

"Amai Mask?"

"Well who'd you think it was?" Amai Mask looked at her. "Don't tell me you came to visit Bang on a social visit now did you?"

"No, I did not."

That stared at each other in silence for a few moments. "Well what are you waiting for? I'm a monster. It's your job to kill me so why not get it over with?"

"Not anymore it's not."

Amai Mask contorted his face in a way she guessed was confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I was fired," Tatsumaki said flatly.

"Fired?" Amai Mask repeated.

"Yes, fired, what did you lose your few brain cells in that transformation of yours along with your so-called 'pretty boy face'?" Tatsumaki snapped.

"At least I had the sense to know when I lost!" Amai Mask snapped back.

"I haven't lost! The Hero Association needs me! In a few days they'll come crawling back for me!" Tatsumaki assured him.

"Why would anyone want a monster like you?" Amai Mask yelled at her.

Tatsumaki visibly flinched at his words. Without saying anything Tatsumaki flew back down the mountain and went back inside of Bang's dojo.

Surprisingly, when Tatsumaki returned to Bang's dojo Bang was there with groceries in hand. "Ah Tatsumaki, would you care to assist me?"

Grateful for any distraction Tatsumaki nodded. "How did you get these so quickly?"

"Ah well when you get to my age you tend to be repetitive. All the employees at the grocery store I go to already know what I get, and often assist me in my shopping," Bang told her.

Bang led her towards the right side of his dojo. It opened up to a modest kitchen, complete with electricity and running water which surprised Tatsumaki.

Bang noticed and commented, "I may be old fashioned but there are some things I prefer modernized."

After Tatsumaki laid down the bags where Bang asked, Tatsumaki went back into the main room. Strangely, she felt comfortable there. Perhaps the room was designed to put the mind at ease.

Suddenly the back door entered and Charanko entered.

"Master!" He called. "I have finished my training for today! I must return home!"

Bang bade farewell to Charanko from the kitchen. As Charanko was leaving, he noticed Tatsumaki.

"Hey," he called to her, slicking his hair back. "I'm Charanko. Star pupil of Master Silverfang."

"I know who you are," Tatsumaki said coldly, hoping that would end the conversation.

"So you must be impressed by my strength and skill huh," Charanko goaded. "Yeah, it's ok, most girls are."

Tatsumaki curled her lips in disgust. Tatsumaki chose not to answer hoping he would leave. Once again, her hopes were crushed.

Unperturbed by her lack of response, Charanko flexed his arms and struck a pose. "If you want me to walk you home, I'd be glad to. No one would mess with you if they knew you had Silverfang's star pupil by your side."

Tatsumaki glared at him. "No one would mess with me regardless."

Tatsumaki floated up so she hovered over him. Wind swirled through the dojo. Charanko gulped.

"I don't need some scrawny pupil to watch over me. I am the master."

Charanko ran as fast as he could away from her. Tatsumaki lowered herself to the floor and the wind died.

"That was quite the show," a voice said from behind her. It was not the warm voice of Bang however.

"What do you want, Amai Mask?" Tatsumaki growled.

"I came for dinner. Silverfang apparently makes some of the best hotpots in Z City."

"Hmph."

The two former heroes stood silently for a while, neither looking at each other. Tatsumaki hovered in one corner of the room with her arms crossed while Amai Mask stared at the floor at the opposite end. The tension in the room had almost reached its boiling point when Bang called out, "Hotpot is served!"

Bang entered the room and immediately surveyed the situation. Then he smiled and said, "Tatsumaki, I see you've found our other guest."

"Thanks gramps, couldn't have got that without you," Tatsumaki said sarcastically.

Ignoring her, Bang looked to Amai Mask. "Would you care to eat with us today?"

Amai Mask looked away. "I shouldn't."

Bang scoffed. "Nonsense. You're a guest. Come eat with us."

Amai Mask sighed. "Very well. If it pleases you, I shall accompany you for supper."

"When you were born? You talk like you're older than Bang," Tatsumaki scoffed.

"Well then perhaps you'd like a history lesson. I fought Black Sperm and the other Monster Association cadres and lasted far better than you. You're supposed to be the greatest esper but you were knocked out by an esper weaker than you!" Amai Mask snarled.

"You want to see weaker than me? I'll teach who's the weak one here!" Tatsumaki shouted, aura glowing brightly. The whole dojo seemed to shudder.

"We'll see about that," Amai Mask said.

Before things could escalate any further, Bang interjected.

"That's quite enough! Settle down! You are in my house, and I will not tolerate this behavior!"

Amai Mask nodded solemnly, but Tatsumaki scoffed. "This may be your house grampa, but let's not forget who holds the power here."

"Say's the monster," Amai Mask grumbled.

"Look who's talking!" Tatsumaki screamed back.

"At least I protect people! You've never cared about anyone other than yourself! You were never a hero! You're nothing but a monster!"

Tatsumaki's rage reached its boiling point. She screamed and flung herself at Amai Mask. But he was faster than she anticipated. He dodged just out of her reach. But Tatsumaki wouldn't give up. She adjusted her course and slammed into Amai Mask at full force. He let out an "oomph" as she carried him through the wall if Bang's dojo and into the night.

Amai Mask tore himself free from Tatsumaki's grip and fell to the earth below. As he fell, Tatsumaki stretched out her hand and pulled the ground up towards Amai Mask. The earth swallowed him up in a single gulp, and Tatsumaki closed her fist, constricting the earth into a ball and sent it flying into the next mountain.

As soon as it hit the mountain, Tatsumaki's boulder exploded. Amai Mask's green mottled form came flying at her the same speed she sent him away.

She pulled the earth at him from both sides like she did with Zombieman. Only this time it worked. Two boulders smashed into Amai Mask from both sides. The boulders shattered. Amai Mask fell back to the earth. Tatsumaki waved her hand and a wall of earth rose with it. It slammed into Amai Mask and sent him a mountain.

Tatsumaki hovered there for a moment. An attack like that would've destroyed almost any monster, including Dragon level threats.

"Had enough, Sweet Mask?" Tatsumaki called out.

A large rock shifted in the distance. Amai Mask crawled out from under it. He stood up straight. He was bleeding in various parts of his body. His breaths came in ragged gasps. But his eyes were alight with fire. "Not quite."

Amai Mask ran at her, fast. Really fast. Tatsumaki flicked a wrist, and hundreds of pieces of earth rose into the air between her and Amai Mask. He expertly jumped from rock to rock, getting closer to her. She just grinned at him. Then she disappeared.

Tatsumaki hid behind a boulder to the left of Amai Mask. Not that he knew. He was desperately jumping from stone to stone, smashing them in an attempt to find her. She could sense him desperately searching for her. She sent a rock at him. It hit him on the shoulder with enough force to completely spin him around. He launched himself at where he thought she was. He was wrong however. Tatsumaki stifled a laugh. Tatsumaki flew from rock to rock silently. Amai Mask continued his rampage. Suddenly Tatsumaki was right behind him. She tapped him on the shoulder, and Tatsumaki will never forget the expression on his hideous face when he turned around.

With enough psychic energy to level a skyscraper, Tatsumaki flicked him on the forehead. He flew through rocks and landed on the ground with enough force to make a crater.

Tatsumaki began to giggle. Then she started to laugh. It grew more and more intense until she didn't realize she let go of her psychic grip on the floating rocks. She laughed so hard, tears streamed out of her eyes. She doubled over mid air.

"What is so funny you insufferable brat!" Amai Mask shouted, brushing pieces of stone off of himself.

"Your face! Oh my god, I can't breathe," Tatsumaki laughed.

"I will gladly help you with that," Amai Mask growled.

"That's quite enough! My backyard can't take much more punishment," Bang yelled, walking towards them steadily. "Now that you've had your spout, may we have a quiet supper?"

Amai Mask nodded, and Tatsumaki followed in suit, still giggling. The two of them followed Bang back to his dojo, Tatsumaki still giggling to herself much to Amai Mask's annoyance.

The rest of dinner proved to be uneventful. Amai Mask was right about one thing though. Bang really did make some of the best hotpot in City Z.

The next few days went by uneventfully. Tatsumaki mostly kept to herself, wandering above Bang's mountain range. She would come back for dinner and the three of them would eat in relative silence.

The tension between Amai Mask and herself was palpable. They nearly got in three more fights before Bang put a stop to it. Amai Mask had recovered surprisingly quick from their duel. Though it would make sense because he's a monster. She watched him reattach his arm back on his body after it had been cut clean off.

For some reason however, Tatsumaki didn't feel at a hundred percent. She felt like she was closer to seventy percent of her full power, but she couldn't go up any further. She also kept getting small headaches randomly in the day.

It was strange. It worried Tatsumaki. Did Psykos do something to her in the battle? Did someone hit her too hard one too many times? Was it the stress?

One afternoon a random thought popped into her head. Maybe it was Tatsumaki's internal battle with herself.

Nah. That's not it.

On the third night at Bang's dojo, when she returned for dinner, Bang was waiting for her.

"Tonight some more guests will be joining us for dinner," Bang informed her.

"Hmph," Tatsumaki acknowledged.

"Would you care to help me prepare for dinner?" Bang asked her.

"I'm not your grandchild to order around! Do it yourself old man," Tatsumaki scolded.

Bang smiled at that. "Very well."

Tatsumaki turned her head up as Bang retreated to the kitchen to prepare for dinner. A moment later the door opened behind her and she heard the now familiar footsteps of Amai Mask.

"That wasn't very nice of you," Amai Mask commented.

"If you want to lower yourself to be Bang's slave, be my guest," Tatsumaki shot back.

"You should respect your elders," Amai Mask scolded.

"You should respect your betters," Tatsumaki snarled.

"You are not my better," Amai Mask told her, looking her dead in the eye, challenging her.

"I seem to recall besting you a few nights ago," Tatsumaki said, accepting his challenge.

"Care for a rematch?" Amai Mask asked.

"Name the time, name the place, I'll be there."

"Hows right here and right now work for you?"

"Let me check my schedule. Hmm, let's see. Oh yeah, I'm free."

"Good," Amai Mask said, sinking lower in his stance.

They stood there facing off for a second. Then, just as they were about to throw down, Bang called from the kitchen. "Amai Mask, is that you? Excellent. I have some basil plants in the garden. Would you care to fetch me a few leaves?"

Amai Mask shot her a glare that said we'll finish this later.

Tatsumaki smirked back. Anytime, prettyboy.

Amai Mask snorted in her direction once, before turning in the direction of Bang's garden.

Tatsumaki grinned confidently. Even at seventy percent she could clock that clown any day of the week.

Tatsumaki went back to the room Bang put aside for her. Tatsumaki checked her phone and sighed. Still no texts from Fubuki. She assumed the Hero Association had informed the public of her new status.

"Still nothing?" A voice said.

"Ah!" Tatsumaki jumped straight up and whirled around. There stood Bang with an amused smile on his face. "Don't do that!"

"My apologies Tatsumaki. I only wished to ask you how you like your fish," Bang informed her.

"Hmph. Lightly done and lightly seasoned," Tatsumaki told him.

Just then there was a knock on the door. "Ah that must be our guests. Come, it's time for dinner," Bang said.

Bang went to answer the door. Tatsumaki lingered in the shadows as not to be seen. Bang opened the door and gestured for them to come in. The first person that came in was King. Tatsumaki didn't know Bang was friends with King. Then came Flashy Flash. An even bigger surprise.

The next person that came through the door stilled Tatsumaki. It was the Demon Cyborg. And where there was smoke…

Tatsumaki saw red. Her teeth gritted together. She knew it. It was him. That cheap suit and cheaper expressions couldn't save him from the mountain Tatsumaki was about to drop on him. She seethed her rage.

Bang excused himself and headed her way.

"What. Is he. Doing. Here." Tatsumaki growled.

"He is my guest. And I expect you to treat him with courtesy," Bang said to her.

"I will give him the courtesy of throwing him off a cliff," Tatsumaki snarled.

"At least wait till after dinner," Bang pleaded.

Tatsumaki looked at him. "Fine. Dinner first. Thoroughly grinding his bald through a massive cheese grater and using his blood as marinara sauce for desert."

Bang swallowed. "S-sure."

And so Tatsumaki took a deep breath, cleared her mind for battle, and followed Bang in.

Insert self deprecating joke about using a cliffhanger here. Alright cool moving on. Someone recently asked about Zombieman's guns and why they're oddly powerful. Firstly, read chapter 108. His guns are no joke. Secondly, as stated by Psychos in the webcomic, its difficult for espers to attack and defend at the same time. At that point, Tatsumaki was so focused purely on offense she barely had any barrier up to protect herself. Hope that clears it up. If you still think that the bullets wouldn't do jack shit to Tatsumaki, fair enough, but I'm trying to write a story, not an essay.