After the battle
Everyone was relatively silent as they ate. I say relatively because Saitama was slurping his noodles quite loudly, eliciting the spiteful glare of other diners who looked away once Genos caught on to them. Eventually, Bang got sick of the awkwardness and spoke up.
"So, Genos-kun, Fubuki-chan, do you two plan on continuing your relationship?"
Everyone but Saitama froze at the question for their own reasons. It took a second before the blonde responded.
"It... it depends on if Fubu-Miss Blizzard would like to continue. And if Tatsumaki would allow it."
Tatsumaki snickered. "If you promise not to drag my Imouto down like that group of hers did, I'll allow it. But hurt even just her emotions," she glowed menacingly, "and I'll hurt you until you can no longer beg." threatened the ESPer. She thought about it and figured Genos might actually be a good influence on her Imouto. Who knows, he may finally be the push she needs to get stronger.
Genos simply nodded with a curt "Understood." as he looked towards the younger of the two sisters. "Miss Blizzard?"
"Just... Just Fubuki is fine Genos."
The cyborg nodded, turning back to his food. "Of course."
A moment of awkward silence before it was interrupted by the loud clonking of a ceramic cup on the wooden table.
"More tea please." said Saitama as he coughed a little. "Ugh, awkward moment over."
"Why did you finish your tea so quickly? It is meant to be enjoyed slowly." said Bang as he raised his cup, showing the bald hero some proper tea etiquette.
"Uh, I like it is all." said the hero, his blank facade hiding his nervousness.
Tatsumaki groaned. "I knew it was a bad idea eating here. We should have gone to Bang's place. Even Fubuki's place with all the weaklings. Anywhere where we won't be embarrassed by you."
"Now now Tatsumaki-chan, Saitama-kun did just save the world. This is one of the greatest restaurants you could ever go to, I think he deserves it, as do you three." Said Bang as he threw a glance to the heroes. "Say, how about a toast?"
Saitama picked up his now refilled cup. "Yea, a toast! To... uh..."
"To a great future, Saitama Sensei." said Genos, raising his own cup, the others joining in.
As the heroes prepared to head their own ways, Tatsumaki pulled back Saitama by his cape. "The canyon you fought the cyborg at, tomorrow noon. We're going to 'talk', you and I."
Saitama gulped as he remembered the whole deal with him setting Genos and the ESPer's sister up. "Y-yeah, sure. A talk." He gave a small laugh as Tatsumaki flew off.
"What was that about Sensei?"
"It's uh-It's nothing. Tats just wants to uh... talk. With me. Tomorrow. At the canyon. Where we... fought."
"I see. Did she say what time, Sensei?" asked Genos as he remembered how bad Saitama's memory can be when it comes to these kind of things.
Present
"Of course he's late."
Tatsumaki flung another pebble across the canyon, sighing.
"How much longer is baldy going to make me wait..."
As in on cue, a yellow dot appeared over the edge along with a black dot. Genos did a superhero landing while Saitama had to try and balance himself again, quite comically."
"Sensei, you need to improve your landing." commented Genos.
"Yea yea, let's just hurry before Tats-"
"You're late you cue ball."
"Oh! Hey uh, look, sorry we're late Tats, there was this monster and I-"
"No excuses asshole. Why did you bring the cyborg along?"
"I insisted I come with Sensei in case there was a task I can assist him with." replied Genos.
The ESPer sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Okay, whatever. Go far away unless you want to be collateral damage."
Genos nodded as he rocketed himself to one side of the canyon.
Saitama scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he felt his nerves tingle. "So uh, what do you wanna start with?"
Tatsumaki folded her arms. "First off, you're going to let me thrash you around. Then, and only then will I allow you to explain your motives as to my Imouto and your robot maid."
Saitama opened his mouth to argue but was stopped by the annoyed ESPer.
"I don't care what you have to say because I know for certain you can take me at my lowest power. I just want to vent some anger, understood, egghead?"
Saitama raised a finger, but stopped, nodding his head.
"Good, let's begin."
And so, for about 10 minutes, Genos had the displeasure of standing at one side and watching as Tatsumaki sent barrages at his Sensei, flung the hero around, albeit using the ground around him since for some reason he himself can't be lifted. All while dirt was stuck in Saitama's 'special pants place' because the brat wouldn't let him shake it out seeing how it kinda annoyed him. Once the ESPer seemed satisfied, Genos walked over to where the two stood.
"Okay, now expl-"
"One sec, gotta shake the dirt out."
Tatsumaki sighed as Saitama proceeded to, in a very nonchalant fashion, clear his belt of dirt.
"You done yet?"
"In a bit." A few more pats later, "Okay, I'm done."
"Good. Now explain to me why you decided to play Wingman and got your stinking roomba-"
"Sensei," Genos interrupted as he came to Saitama's side, "I know your distaste towards long explanations. Would you rather if I explained?" the blonde leaned in, whispering, "Also, your candidness may end up getting us into trouble."
Saitama waved him off. "It's fine, I got this."
Tatsumaki's eye was twitching slightly at having just been rudely interrupted but she tried to keep her cool as the baldy went on about how he felt Fubuki had confidence issues or something, and figured Genos would be a great help.
"Besides, Genos can talk a lot. And I'm sure Fubuki wouldn't mind some pep talk now and then, right Genos?" the cyborg nodded his head in response.
"Oh please, I give that to her enough." said Tatsumaki.
"Yea well, from what Bang told me it's more like you're trying to control her." Saitama had to try very hard not to say that out loud, and keep the concern off his poker face. "Yea but... love. You know?"
Tatsumaki sighed. "You're lucky I'm smart so I can understand you. And you," she glared at Genos, "you're so damn lucky Bang somehow convinced me you MIGHT be a good influence on Fubuki. But, what I said yesterday, I meant it. Understood?"
Genos nodded. "I promise, I will not lay my hands on her for anything more than just a friendly gesture. I will only do so if she wishes to."
Both Saitama and Tatsumaki deadpanned.
"Dude, you don't talk about those things."
"Do you not have a filter installed, cyborg?"
Genos cocked his head in amusement. "Are you two appalled by sex?"
"It's called decency in the presence of a woman, you idiot!" grunted Tatsumaki.
"Yea man. Try not to talk like that around women, especially Fubuki. Unless you really wanna impress her with your knowledge of... you know." warned Saitama. He had just enough experience in his teenage years to know that was a bad thing.
Genos nodded, pulling out his notebook to jot down his Sensei's godly advice, half heartedly noting that Tatsumaki has similar views.
"Anyway, now that we got that out of the way," Tatsumaki pulled out her phone, "the association wanted me to personally notify you that all who were involved in stopping the alien invasion are invited to Murata Hot Springs."
Saitama's face was full of excitement. "You mean the world famous outdoor hot spring?!"
"Something like that. Unfortunately, your maid is invited too. Even though he did fuck all."
"SWEET!" resounded Saitama, "When is it?!"
"Later today." Tatsumaki smirked as she watched Saitama's face turn to one of dread.
"But... today is..."
"Ah, Sensei is worried about today's sale." thought Genos.
"Uh, Tats? You got power over them right? Can you, like, get them to change this to tomorrow? There's this 55% off sale today and I-"
The ESPer pulled out two cards, one was gold and black and the other was a mix of red, white and the most dominant colour, yellow. "I figured as much, which is why the damn caveman insisted I hand these to you."
The caped baldy was unable to speak, his jaw hung in shock as he looked at the cards in her hand.
"S-S-Sixty five percent off everything?..." Tatsumaki was suddenly pulled into the baldy's tight embrace. "THANKS TATS! YOU'RE THE BEST!"
"C-can't... breathe..." Saitama opened his eyes in realisation, letting the ESPer go as she took a deep breath. "You... fucking... Baldy..."
Saitama smiled awkwardly. "Eh heh, uh, sorry Tats. I uh... yea, sorry." muttered Saitama as rubbed his neck, praying she didn't take the card back.
"Haigh, be glad I'm looking forward to the trip. I'll pretend that never happened." The ESPer flew off, leaving Saitama behind as he kissed his card. completely forgetting Genos was standing at the side, having watched everything, his stoic face hiding a very much amused self.
Saitama suddenly stopped jumping for joy, having realised his mistake. He made a sharp turn to his disciple. "Yo Genos let's go get ready for the trip k?" gabbled the hero, causing the blonde to inwardly laugh.
"Yes Sensei!"
It didn't take too long for the heroes to race back home, grab some essentials and leave for the springs. When they arrived, they found out they were absurdly early, the only other heroes being Bang and Fubuki.
"Ah, Saitama-kun, Genos-kun, so glad you two could make it." greeted the old hero while Fubuki just waved at them with a small smile.
"Hey old ma-Bang, Fubuki. Why are you two here so early?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing Saitama-kun. We were just here to get a few things settled."
"I uh... we were kinda... too excited."
Bang chuckled. "I see. Anyway, it provides us with a good opportunity to continue where we left of, don't you think?"
The bald blinked, letting out a small 'oh'. "You sure? Because Tats might be here any minute now and I don't wanna ruin the mood. I mean, this is basically a vacation so-"
"Ah, that is alright Saitama-kun. Tatsumaki-chan won't be here for another hour, and I don't mind getting this over with. Do you Fubuki-chan? Genos-kun?" Bang glanced at the two, both shook their heads in response. Bang nodded as he turned back to face Saitama. "This is still your decision in the end, but as you can see, the three of us don't mind."
Saitama sighed, knowing there was no way he'll get out of this without looking like an ass. They were about to head in when Fubuki stopped Genos.
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that uh... I guess I'm kinda free after this whole thing. You... wanna go somewhere?"
Genos's facade broke as he smiled just a tiny one. "It would be an honour."
And so, the the four of them were brought to a sound proof room, as per Bang's request.
"Oh, and please inform me when Tatsumaki-chan arrives." said Bang to the staff member. The door was closed and the four sat down. "So, where were we?"
"He was yelling at Genos after agreeing to giving the whole relationship idea a go." answered Fubuki.
"Ah, right. So, how do you plan to court her Saitama-kun?" asked Bang.
"Uh... I actually have no idea." Every other hero raised an eyebrow at the bald's response. "I mean, the only relationship I had was a while ago. And back than it was mostly her who did everything right."
Genos perked up upon hearing this. "Sensei, allow me as your humble disciple to assist you by researching on the proper ways to-"
"Genos," interrupted Saitama, "I get it dude, but the web isn't always right. And I sure as hell want to be right, so I think it's better I ask the two people closest to Tats. You know, the ones sitting right there?"
Genos hung his head low in shame. "I... yes Sensei. I apologise." muttered the cyborg as he pulled out his notebook to jot down more words of wisdom.
Fubuki chuckled to herself. "Aww, he's so adorable." thought the ESPer, " 'Demon Cyborg'...pfft. Yea right."
"So uh... what should I do?" inquired Saitama.
Bang and Fubuki looked at each other, grinning.
"We've made a plan, Saitama-kun." chuckled Bang, his cheekiness borderlining on creepiness.
"So, later, we're going to bet my Onee-chan that she can't out drink us. Because of how prideful she is, she'll accept it despite knowing how little she can take." Continued Fubuki.
"So, once Tatsumaki-chan is less hard headed from the liquor, you get your chance to be the dashing hero. You'll ask her what's wrong, and she should eventually-"
"Hell. No." interjected Saitama, causing the two to reel back a bit. "I might as well have taken advantage of her right there and then. Honestly, I thought you would have a better idea. I think I'll go with Genos' suggestion."
"You don't understand," said the ESPer, "my sister is not the type to open up to anyone! There is no other way a relationship is possible, not-"
"Then I won't enter a relationship with her! Better yet, I'll be a friend to her, and help her find the right man, anything but this!" Saitama was about to continue when he shook his head, sighing. "Besides, I only agreed because you supposedly have a way of making my emotions less numb. If not, there is literally no point to this talk." He laid himself back a bit, calming down.
Fubuki pouted as she crossed her arms, looking away with a mix of emotions in her eyes while Bang only sighed.
"You're right. We'll deal with your repressed emotions first before getting to Tatsumaki-chan." The old man looked towards Genos, nodding.
The cyborg flipped to a previous page of his notebook. "Sensei, there are numerous ways to deal with numb emotions. According to my research, the best way is to 'hang out' with those who care about you most so that you may feel loved, and thus, love back."
Saitama scratched his temple in confusion. "Okay? Eh... so you mean like my family or something?"
Genos nodded. "Or any good friends... or your disciple?" he said the last one with less confidence as he wondered if Saitama considered him anything more than a disturbance.
"Oh. Yea, sure I gue-did you just refer to yourself in third person?" Saitama quickly shook his head, not wanting to waste time. "Okay, whatever. I'll do that I guess. Anything else?"
Unfortunately for them, fate itself seems to hate them, for a knocking came from the door. Bang sighed as he walked up to it, opening up to reveal the staff member from earlier.
"My apologies for interrupting, Bang-sama, but Tatsumaki-sama is here." Bang simply thanked her, waving her off as he turned to face the others.
"I really hate bad timing."
EDIT: Fixed small mistakes
Okay, this was a really short update for the long wait. So sorry. I initially wanted to write something longer but unfortunately, I'll have to split this into parts, for my sanity's sake.
Sad to say, I've yet to improve as much as I would like, and I might be slipping back into old habits because I'm being forced to write the same boring way due to school. Please tell me if this reads too much like a school composition so that I may correct it.
Anyway, I should finish this up. I gotta research how not to fuck up romance because I am one of those that hate cliches...
Lightningblade49: They fled because no one wants to deal with angry Tornado. They've dealt with it once and that one time was enough to teach them a lesson. *Cough* Kamikaze, *cough* and yea good ridance Amai
Hektols: A real relationship? Oh boy time for this teen with 0 experience to get researching... damn it. As for Amai... I've yet to figure this out.
Boggie445: Wot, you mean in terms of storyline? I'm planning to go as far as the webcomic, along with some extra chapters that aren't related to the canonverse.
Ander Arias: Grandpa Bang decided to go ahead and tell her because there was no other way he could explain why Fubuki would just straight up hug Genos. Somehow he managed to convince her this might be a good thing? Well, technically not all heroes, just the ones that matter. And unfortunately, I didn't capitalise on that duel. Seriously, what is with me and cutting fights short jfc.
Scarletrailgun: Oh. OH. I actually read that! Damn it I completely forgot to add that here. Thanks! And uh... okay, Saitama vs Tatsumaki for realsies will have to come way later or something, idc. I honestly don't know how the... okay, spoilers.
My inspirations:
The Bald and The Esper: Fanfiction
The Strongest Hero: Fanfiction
Icebreaker: Fanfiction
An Odd Kind of Love: Fanfiction
Threat level: Tornado: Wattpad
There is definitely more to the list, please let me know if you read anything similar! It could be from this here site, ArchiveOfOurOwn or Wattpad.
The names given to the HoE's creations belong to "The Lone Lobster".
