Saitama gets serious
Chapter 4
Everyone needs a cyborg
It's early in the morning. Sitch takes a seat on a round table, a coffee in his hand. The middle-aged man wears a brown business suit and a red tie, his gray hair parted to the right. He puts his coffee on the table and looks around. The highest members of the hero association have gathered around the table, or at least a lot. He can't see "Sweet Mask". Thank goodness. He hates it when that guy shows up. He always shows off in front of all, and nobody can do something about it. 15% of the current receipts the hero association obtains in a year, is due to him. The man has the largest fanbase and is so the most popular of all the heroes. Lots of sponsors only keep connections with the HA because of him. No one would say it out loud, but he is a pain in the ass since the beginning. Projects like the restoration of A-, or D-city are possible because of money, and he brings the most. That is why his word has so much weight and that's why the new soccer stadium in A-city will be called, the "Sweet Mask temple". As if this wasn't enough, everything regarding the S-class is under his surveillance. Each contender needs the man's approval and that doesn't happen very often.
The meeting should begin any minute. Why are they here? He looks to the woman right next to him.
"Excuse me, could you tell me why this meeting was called?" Sitch asks curious. She turns his head to him; she has short black hair and a unique blue tattoo under her right eye. A thoughtful look is on the woman's face. "We discuss the incident in D-, and B-city, it damaged the reputation of the HA enormous. We have to talk of how to proceed further", she speaks calm and calculated. Of course, he knows what she is talking about. The devastation of an entire city didn't go unnoticed by the public. "Then shouldn't we start by now?" Sitch wants to know. "No, our most important guest hasn't shown up yet," she states.
Please, don't let it be Sweet Mask.
Suddenly the door to the meeting room opens widely, surrounded by a green shine. Tatsumaki floats a meter above the ground, she seems distracted, as if her thoughts were somewhere else. The esper lands on the nearest chair.
"I hope this is important, I have things to attend to." She hates these meetings; in her eyes they are all unnecessary. Why talking about a problem when you can just go and solve it?
"We're sorry to bother you, we know you're very busy. I can assure you this won't take long," a corpulent man speaks out. He has a tank-shell shaped head and a big nose. His face possesses a sheen like that of polished wax, it's needless to say, the appearance of this man is pretty odd.
"My name is Guiches, by the way," he adds.
"So, what do you want? "she asks.
"First of all, we all want to thank you personally for killing the giant back in B-city. The loss of one city is terrible enough. The loss of a second would ruin the HA. So, thanks from every one of us for your invaluable work Miss Tornado." He stands up from his chair and starts to applaud. Hesitantly, the rest of the room does the same.
"I only accepted the offer to come here, because I have information regarding the accident with the giant." Tatsumaki is weirded out, everyone always has to make a fuss about everything she's involved in, it's annoying. She takes a deep breath before she continues speaking. She won't lie about yesterday. "I wasn't the one who killed him. There was someone else."
The room is silent for a moment. If she didn't kill the monster, who was it? "Who killed the giant then?" Sitch asks curious. "Was it King? He didn't report to us, or was it some other S-Class Hero?"
"No, it was the same guy, who killed the Vaccine monster in A-city one week earlier," Tatsumaki explains.
The woman with the tattoo stands up. "The bald guy? That's impossible, we raised the disaster level to dragon after we realized how powerful the monster was. No way, he just defeated the giant. This man isn't even registered as a hero!"
Tatsumakis face darkens, "so you say I'm lying?!"
Every color on the woman's face fades as she realizes who she's messing with. "Miss Tornado, I…I didn't want t…to question you. I'm so sorry." She looks away nervously, now staring at some documents in front of her. Hoping they all forget she even exists.
"Well, her objections are not unjustified, I would say." A voice can be heard, coming from the entrance of the room. In the door frame stands a tall young man. He has messy, shoulder-length blue hair and yellow eyes. He wears a white jacket over a gray shirt with a green circle necklace.
"This man could be a liar, an imposter. We don't know who this guy is, I advise caution.", the young man states, an arrogant smile on his face.
Tatsumaki doesn't need to look around to see what a piece of shit stands in the entry. "Sweet mask, what the hell are you doing here? Don't you have to give Autographs to your fan girls or give a concert about picking flowers or something?"
"I would love to give my fans such a gift", he says innocent, "but first we will talk about this!" He steps closer to the table, uncomfortable close to Tatsumaki.
"We should continue to keep an eye out for this guy. If he is legitimate, he should join the HA." Those else present in the room are whispering to each other. "He is right." "We should do like he says," it can be heard in the room.
"I already witnessed his powers. We don't need further investigations. He is legitimate, that's for sure. He comes straight into the S-class." She crosses her arms, she's pissed off. That douchebag questions her? She saw with her own eyes the raw power Saitama has, there is nothing to question about.
"Even the great "Tornado of Terror" can be deceived. I'm sorry to break it to you. We only want to get sure for ourselves, that his powers are not a bluff. I'm sure you understand this." Sweet mask is standing in front of her, he is full of confidence, and his smile is mocking her. He waits for a reaction.
Tatsumaki is enraged, his mockery was obvious, and she won't let it stay unanswered.
In a second, Sweet mask ends up in the wall, surrounded by the green esper power. He is seemingly restrained to the wall and his body is tense.
"Shut your god damn mouth. I won't let you continue to trash talk me. We will do as I said!" she says, her focus still on Sweet mask. Now, he will take her serious.
Sweet mask seems not intimidated. His face has more of a reproachful expression. "So that's the great Miss Tornado! If her will is not granted, she resorts to violence immediately. You would be an excellent villain!" Sweet mask gasps. It gets harder to breathe but he keeps going. "You know, for someone who wants to be accepted as an adult, you do everything in your power," his voice gets lower, now nearly a whisper, "to show everyone that you are just a spoiled brat!"
With that, Tatsumaki lets go of him. He slides down the indented wall and lands on his butt. Sweet mask breathes heavily, and he doesn't even make the effort to stay up. Tatsumaki rises from her chair and flies towards the door. Before she exits the room, she looks back. Sweet mask still sits at the wall, his breathing is slowly normalizing. The members of the HA look different. They are scared shitless. They didn't think that the situation would escalate this fast and that dramatic. Sweet mask is a valuable part of the association, but no one will dare to stand up against such a powerful esper like Tatsumaki.
She leaves the HA head quarter and is heading to her apartment. After that drama she will have a hot shower, to wash off the disgusting smell of Sweet mask.
He really touched a nerve as he spoke. She would never admit it, but his words hurt her. To be misjudged as not more than a child happened more than once in her life and she hates it. Tatsumakis impulsive and bitchy behavior tempts people to think of her as one, her petite appearance doesn't help either to let people think differently. Intimidating is the only way to get the things you want, she tells herself. Just once it didn't work since she escaped her captivity, and this Saitama doesn't count really, he's a big mystery anyway. A bit soothed she continues the way to her place.
Saitamas apartment
Saitama stands at his sink and fills a tiny watering can shaped like an elephant. "Man, since I became a hero, the monsters keep coming and coming. It's like I have no effect at all on anything." Saitama watches as the can fills up. "That sucks, something should have changed in fucking 3 years. I'm stuck, and if this wasn't enough, I can't enjoy my fights anymore. It's always the same, one punch and then I can wash my gloves. Where is the challenge, the struggling or the thrill which I once so appreciated?"
He picks up the now filled can and moves sluggishly towards his balcony. He opens the door and crouches down. On the floor stands a tiny well cared for cactus. Saitama lifts the cute can and starts watering the little one. "Well, at least I have something meaningful in my life, right fellow?" Humorful, he looks down on the cactus. "Your wellbeing is my ultimate challenge in life." He smiles sadly as he eyes his green companion.
Suddenly Saitama hears a soft hum in the air. A mosquito flies around and lands on his hand. The little thing tries to penetrate the skin he landed on but to no avail. "Oh, another worthy opponent tries to challenge me, will he give a good fight?", Saitama jokes as he strikes his hand with an enormous force from his free right hand. "Well, I don't think so." As he takes the hand off the mosquito flies away, completely unharmed. "You're tougher than you look, I give you that."
He surrounds the mosquito and tries to crush it in his fist, but it continues to hum in the air as soon as he opens his hand again. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" he screams as he tries to clap it to death without success. "I'll get you; I promise you!" Saitama spins around, just slow enough not to destroy his balcony or hurt his cactus. "God damn it, where is it? I can't believe I lost the little shit. I must find him!" Saitamas face is red as an apple, his teeth clenched, and his eyes are boiling with rage as he grabs the bug repellent with murderous intent. "You can't hide from me!"
"This is an emergency evacuation! A giant swarm of mosquitos is headed towards Z-city! The swarm is lethal! I repeat, the swarm is lethal! All residents should seek shelter in sealed off buildings immediately! More information is available on the HA news network."
"Hahaha, thanks to all the warnings, no one is in the shops! Stupid idiots!" A tall man with long hair and a cap stands in the middle of the street, carrying a huge filled sack behind him. A tech store with a broken window is in sight. He wears a black T-shirt and a crowbar in his left hand. He has a big grin on his face. "Mosquito bites can't kill anyone! After grabbing all this juicy stuff, I don't mind losing a little blood!"
Out of nowhere, the man feels a strong push forward. His cap falls from his head. "What was this? The wind?" He has no time to further react, as he gets surrounded entirely in a big layer of mosquitos. "GAAH! AHHH!" he shouts in terror and agony as thousands of mosquitoes suck every single drop of blood out of his body. Within seconds, the mosquitoes let go of his remains. Where recently stood a human being, stands now a dried out mummified skeleton. It stands a few seconds until it breaks apart by its own weight.
"Ahhhh… what's with you guys?! That isn't nearly enough!" A feminine voluptuous figure flies high above the ground, surrounded by thousands of the little insects. The woman's body is largely exoskeleton and her limbs are extended and ending in twin hooks. Her biceps and shins are striped akin to a hornet's. She has long hair and a, for the most part human face, but her head resembles more of a mosquito, including a second pair of compound eyes, two sets of antennae and a big sting.
Suddenly, she feels something unsettling in the back of her mind and she senses an enormous heat hundreds of meters under her. "Several mosquitoes just died nearby. They vanished fast!" she thinks.
"Oh, I see. You have swarms of mosquitoes suck blood and then take it all for yourself." Under the mosquito woman's feet stands a mysterious figure. He is clouded in the tiny insects which try in vain to penetrate his skin.
"I suppose you control them with a sort of signal, that would explain this mysterious group behavior." His eyes shine menacing through the dark clouds, directed to the flying woman above him. "So, if I eliminate you, their master, will this unsightly swarm also disappear?"
"You are a smart one, aren't you?" she states with a smug smile. "Dinner is ready, suck him dry my little ones!" With that, all mosquitoes are attacking at once. Within seconds, the stranger is surrounded completely.
A big explosion emits out of the center of the spectacle. A tremendous fireball devours the entirety of the mosquitos in an instant and shakes the surrounding buildings.
The mosquito woman watches in disbelief the annihilation of her followers and the destruction the stranger is capable of. Now she sees her opponent for the first time.
Right beneath her stands a mechanical man of average human height. His face looks human except for his eyes, which have black scleras and yellow irises. He has spiky blond hair and wears normal street clothes. The white shirt he's wearing is sleeveless and shows his mechanical arms. One of those arms directly aims at her, his hand is wide open and emits a threatening flame.
The man looks ominous in her eyes. "I will exterminate you. Don't move."
"Teh heh heh," she starts to laugh. "Exterminate me? Ha ha. I don't think it will be that way. I'm sorry to disappoint you darling, but this won't be my end!"
"Incinerate!" A huge burst of flames shoots out of his right outstretched arm. The monster dodges the attack, which damages a building behind her. She goes in a descent and manages to hit the man. She flies up and has one of the machines arms on her sting. "Heh. Shall I take your leg next?" she asks sarcastically as she feels a slight pain at her legs. She looks down to see, they aren't there anymore. "Oh no, my legs are gone!" The mosquito woman watches the single-armed man holding her legs, casually tossing them to the side and now looking back to her, his eyes now full of anger.
Slowly fear starts to rise in the monster. She had never fought an opponent as strong as this guy was. She flies higher.
"It is no use. You can't escape me." He fires again, but before he can hit her a swarm of mosquitoes block his shoots.
The mosquito woman flies out of the danger zone to compose herself. "Who is this guy? If this keeps up, he'll kill me! I'll call all my mosquitoes within my 50-kilometer range of control."
From all directions, huge swarms flying towards and surrounding her. "COME TO ME! POUR INTO ME THE JUICE YOU HAVE STORED UP!" She is now entirely devoured in a gigantic cloud of her followers.
The man watches as more and more mosquitoes gather around the monster. "I can't let her get any stronger. They are still gathering. Seems like the sooner I finish this the better." As he gets ready to destroy them all at once, he hears a voice behind him.
"WAAAIT! THIS ISN'T OVER BETWEEN US!" Saitama rushes trough the streets, anger and frustration as his drive. In one hand he holds a spray bottle.
"Who's that guy?" the mechanical man asks himself.
Saitama looks up in the sky. "What the fuck is this? Mosquitoes? I think I need more bug repellent."
The blonde man turns to Saitama. "You there. Evacuate the area. That swarm has a will. If it notices you, it will attack."
"Oh man, I have a bad feeling about this," Saitama states. "Hey, we should get the hell ou…"
Before he can end his sentence, the swarm attacks them. A huge fire ball erupts in the streets. It destroys most of the residential area and obliterates all insects.
"Stupid bug. When I noticed her, I confirmed that there is no other life within a 500-meter radius, so I didn't need to hold back." The blonde man is seemingly impressed by himself and satisfied by his accomplishment.
"OH NO! That man got caught in the blast!" He turns around, he knows there is no way this man survived the blast, but he must see it with his own eyes, but nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to witness. Before him stands Saitama, unharmed and naked, a slight smile on his face. "Not bad to grill those little shits, well done. Are you a robot or something like that or how can you shoot fire?"
The astonishment is written on the blonde man's face. How can he be alive? And why is he so casual about all of this?
"Heh heh heh heh heh," they hear someone above them giggle.
"I had no more use for them anyway. You idiots!" In the sky hovers the mosquito woman. Her body is covered in sharp spines and colored in a dark red. The claws at the end of her limbs got much larger and she has her legs back.
"After all…," all of the sudden she flies with an insane speed towards her opponent and cuts his mechanical chest nearly in half, "…look how strong I've become!"
He tries get a hit on her with a direct counterattack, but it fails miserably, as she isn't there anymore when he punches. He gets torn to shreds. A slash through his face removes one of his eyes, and in a second his legs missing as well.
"That punch wouldn't kill a mosquito! Ha ha ha ha. You're so fragile! Don't worry, it's all over soon, next time I'll take your head!" she yells fanatical.
Without his legs and nearly cut in half, the blonde man starts to fall to the ground. "Her physical abilities have improved so much. I underestimated her. I can't win. It is over," he thinks. "All I can do now is self-destruct. I'm sorry professor."
Waiting for the final blow, his inner core is loading up. She comes closer, when she is in reach, he will blow them both up.
The mosquito woman flies towards her helpless victim, ready to finish the job. A brutal slap in the face ends her attack immediately, as she crashes in a near building, no more left of her, than the splattered blood on the wall.
"Man, she was both a mosquito and a hoe. Good riddance." Saitama cleans his hands satisfied.
Beside him lies the destroyed machine man, he looks at Saitama, completely stunned and full of awe.
As Saitama is about to leave, he hears a scream behind him. "WAIT!"
"Oh my god, everyone wants something from me," he says annoyed. Saitama turns around.
"I am a lone cyborg fighting for justice! I am called Genos! Please tell me your name!"
"I know what that boils down to," Saitama thinks to himself. "My name is Saitama."
"Take me as your disciple!" the cyborg demands.
Saitama is baffled. He didn't expect that. He doesn't even know this guy.
"Are you insane?! Hell no!"
A/N: Hello guys, sorry for the long break. There was a lot going around the last month and I didn't have much time for writing, but I haven't forgotten the story. So, if someone wants to continue, here it goes. To the story, it ends a bit different than in the manga, but I promise, Saitama and Genos have their story, but I thought it fits better Saitamas character in this story that he is more repellent of the idea of a disciple. Next chapter in the next 2 to 3 days, no longer breaks. Hope you enjoy.
PS: I know it's needless to say, but HA stands for hero association.