"Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you." - Les Brown


The newly made cyborg was more reclusive than ever. Well, no, not more than ever. Since meeting him, he seemed like he had been a bit of a recluse at first, but he was more of one now since… Haf… Anyway, the point was that he secluded himself, and it was understandable in all rights. No one could have been so much of a dumbass to think it wasn't understandable. The kid got his home destroyed and lost trust in two of the people he thought he could trust at first; the girl who comforted him, and her A.I which mistook him for a threat and almost choked him out with his own arms. It was a good thing he still had trust in the good doctor. If he didn't, he wouldn't feel safe in the facility, and if he didn't feel safe then he was always in danger. And always being in danger, and in fear something bad would always happen was no way to live.

He was alone for the most part, only allowing the doctor to be near him while he recuperated and did his own version of physiotherapy. He had an entire body to grow accustomed to, and who knew how long that would all really take? It could very well be years until he had all of his motor movements under control. His arms had taken the brunt of the damage, so those would be especially sore on his remaining human nerves, and especially difficult to take hold of.

I didn't mind being ignored by Genos. It was totally warranted. The only problem I had was reprogramming parts of Haf, and finding what caused them to go so psycho on me, what with attacking our new resident cyborg like that. They said it was the threat protocol, so if I were to program him in as an associate instead, he would be fine. Only thing was I'd need either a piece of his UI, or something that could register on Haf's sensors. For the doctor and me, we used thermal cameras to pick up on our presences. For Genos, it wouldn't be as easy. And for that I needed to speak to him, and if I was right, he wasn't going to be up for speaking. Not to me, at least.

I tapped lightly on the knee of my cast. My leg was irritating me. It was itchy, and it looked kind of red from the top on which I spilled water. Not only that, but my knee felt like shit. It was bad. Liquid kept running down my leg inside my cast, and I couldn't tell if it was the water, or if it was blood. I probably should have notified the doctor about this problem earlier, but I already screwed up with Haf. I didn't know if anyone wanted to talk to me at the moment.

I was about to ask Haf about the status on my injuries again, more specifically on my broken leg, but I realized I had suspended their activity temporarily as I worked on their reprogramming. Nothing was really going my way, it seemed. In any case, I did need to find a way to register Genos as good on Haf's terms. Haf had already made an analysis of him that was positive, so it must have meant something. It was only after the operation that Haf decided Genos was a threat. But that didn't make sense! He was just a cyborg, it wasn't like he…!

He had a weapons system built in, didn't he...? Damn it! ...Well, it made my job a little easier, as well as a little more challenging. At least now I knew the source of how Haf freaked, and I wouldn't need any of his UI. Now, I needed to know the model number of his built in weapons as well as their capabilities. Which, again I would have to talk to him about.

When did the doctor insert artillery into the model, I wondered scornfully. I was there beside him during the whole thing! Then again, I did try to block out most of it because of how vomit inducing it really was. I was probably looking away at the time when Doctor Kuseno inserted them. Looking away for a very long time. Or maybe the endoskeleton was a fighter model all along, and I just didn't give it enough attention. There were a lot of reasons that I could have missed it, all of which that were more than plausible. All that mattered, however, was that Genos was going to be okay around Haf.

My hands went down to my wheels to roll me backwards from my desk and computer. As great as coding was, it was long and tiring. Not a number, letter, symbol or command should have been out of place. Turning my chair around, I thought about what I planned to do. Really, all I needed to do was talk to Genos, but it wasn't that simple. There was so much more to it, like how he hated me at the moment. I wasn't certain he would even talk. Not to mention my heart raced anxiously at how it might have unfolded. I wasn't going to be an easy conversation, that much I could tell. But like all things, I thought pushing myself towards the door frame exiting from my little computer hub, it was best to get it over with.

About to pass the frame, suddenly, Doctor Kuseno popped out, not looking surprised at where I'd been for the past while. "So this is where you've been," he observed. I nodded curtly, intending to move past him. He held a hand out to stop me, and I looked up at him with a guilty expression. He knew what I was going to do. "I think it's best if you left him alone for a while," he murmured softly, thinking I'd be compliant.

I shook my head stubbornly. I was not going to be compliant. "Doctor, I found a way to make sure Haf doesn't attack Genos again, I just need a few things to make it complete, and until then, we won't have a security network." Haf was the security network ever since I had found the doctor had gone without one as competent as Haf's was. There were even things in the facility that wouldn't work without Haf. That's how far ingrained they were into this place after only several weeks.

"It can wait," he argued, "we've gone without a security system before, and we haven't been attacked. It's alright." He was trying to console me, to coax me out of talking to Genos. It was probably the right decision, too, but I refused to budge.

I rolled myself backwards to gather some space in between us, and so I could properly look him in the eye. "With all due respect doctor, there's always a possibility, and everyone's in a fragile position as it is. We need Haf, and I want to make sure that when they're back online, they won't hurt Genos." My voice was shaking from how serious I took this. I wanted—needed—to get this done.

"Haf doesn't always need to be operational. You can save this for another day." He frowned, and I wondered how much he didn't understand about how I really needed to get this done today.

I mirrored his expression, the only difference between us was that mine was filled with determination. "Sir," I addressed him formally for what seemed like the first time. His attention became more focused on me. I wasn't joking around. "If I don't do this today when I have the courage, then I won't be able to do it tomorrow when I don't. I need to do this now!"

He released an exasperated sigh. I had won, only barely though. "At least allow me to take a look at your leg before you do. You spilled water on it, didn't you?" My face was that of comedic shock. How did he know? "Frankly, it smells disgusting." He chuckled. ...That actually made a lot of sense. "Normally all it takes is drying it with a hair dryer, but I'm worried water might have seeped your cut too. It might be infected."

I nodded, conceding to that at least. I wasn't about to risk an infected wound, and it was good to have an actual medical update on my leg. Haf wasn't going to do it. The doctor pushed me to my room, making small talk to probably comfort me in case anything bad did come up.

"What were you doing earlier?" He asked.

"Reviewing Haf's coding and programming," I replied.

It sort of unfurled from there to where we talked about different ways of coding, and programming an advanced A.I. It was an interesting conversation to have with him, and it opened my eyes a little. The hard thing about creating and working with the development of an artificial intelligence was the amount of foresight that needed to be put into it. Creating a personality was an especially difficult task. Some might have believed that giving an A.I a personality was a bad thing, but I disagreed wholeheartedly. Humans were and are interesting creatures, and it all laid in our characteristics, which was why I wanted Haf to be as humanlike as possible. The good doctor had also found that tidbit interesting of me, because normally scientists and engineers didn't care for a personality in their creations, they only cared that they fulfilled a task, and did it efficiently. I was an anomaly, supposedly, because of how much more work I put on myself when things could have been so much more simple.

"Yeah, well, simple doesn't always mean it's worth it in the end," I grinned up at him. "I have an A.I and a friend, and I think that's more than worth it!"

Doctor Kuseno gave me his grandfatherly smile. "You really care about Haf, don't you?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I do! You've heard it already, haven't you? Haf's been with me since I was a kid, and I'm not about to let them go over some error in their programming!" I raised a fist, shaking it in the air fervently. I sighed, deflating into a calmer disposition. "They… they're too important for that, you know?" I trailed off, my voice becoming more hushed. Haf was precious, and meant the absolute world to me. I wasn't about to give up, especially not on them.

He hummed musingly. "If I hadn't known Haf wasn't human, I would have thought they were your child." He joked, chuckling at himself

I scoffed, smiling all the same. "Yeah, me, a mom. You know Haf is the one who moms me all the time, right? Coddles me like I'm still a kid."

"I'm not surprised," he breathed in a displeased tone. "You pull quite the reckless stunt every now and then." I could tell he was looking at my leg, and was probably thinking about my cut too. They fell into the same category of recklessness I'd committed to.

It wasn't something to be proud of, but still, "I'm not gonna deny that," I smiled crookedly, crossing my arms.

Soon enough, we entered the medical wing, and the doctor redirected the both of us into one of the rooms for my medical assessment. He had me move back onto the bed, which was admittedly, very difficult to do. With a few grunts and mumbles, it was manageable. Although, it sounded much more like I was breathing like a pregnant woman than struggling to pull myself up. Hee, haa, hoo, haa, hee, something or other. I then underwent various tests and questions per the doctor's orders.

Lift your leg as high as you can. Only about a few inches until it started to hurt. Can you bend your knee even slightly? No, it hurts to much. How does your knee feel? You know, now that you mention it, it stings like a bi—sorry, it stings a lot. That sort of thing. There were more technicalities, but I really didn't want to go through those details.

Then, we removed the gauze and bandages over my cut. It was slow, because, again, it was pretty painful. Some of the blood under my bandages had dried, and made a sort of adhesive bond between the gauze and my skin. I was cringing as I tried to pull it off myself, and the doctor insisted he find something to cut it off instead, but what I really needed to do was get it off as soon as possible. So I ripped it off like a bandaid, and no that pun wasn't intended.

From where my cut was located, I wasn't able to see the full extent of it's damage. I could only see the head of it, but it was still hard to look at, and by Doctor Kuseno's sharp frown, I was sure the rest of it wasn't very pretty either.

"Give it to me straight, doc," I tried to come off as nonchalant. It wasn't working very well through all my pain. "What's up with me?"

He wiped his forehead with a wet towel, and his expression became grave. "Do you want the good or the bad news first?" A cliché thing to say, but the way he said it held more weight than a normal cliché.

"I'll take a bite for the good news," I shrugged.

"Your cut is infected."

I choked from how bluntly he had said it. "Th-that's the good news?! Then what the hell's the bad news?!" It wasn't that I didn't think my wound was infected, it was just that I figured there would be better news than that. In fact, I should have suspected an infection earlier on from how badly stung, but I was just so busy with Haf, and I didn't want to bother anyone, so I thought I could tough it out. Turns out I was terribly wrong.

He folded his arms behind his back, posture becoming more stiff. "I made a severe underestimation of the healing process for your broken leg, and it's far more broken than I initially believed." It already didn't sound good, so really having an infected cut was the lesser of the two evils. I could see why that was the good news, now. "I hadn't given it enough attention at first, but it appears your leg has become more agitated with time, and it's essentially damaging your knee further." He sighed as though he was about to drop a bomb on me, which thinking about it, didn't seem too far off. "What I'm attempting to say is that you require knee replacement surgery."

My body seemed to shudder on its own accord as a mild panic set in. Surgery really had me anxious. The word itself was frightening. I swallowed roughly, attempting to get the words out through my thoughts which seemed to be going at the speed of sound. "So how long will it take to be fine and dandy again? And when do we start?"

"A period of two to four months, and as soon as you believe you're ready," he stated firmly.

I nodded in understanding, and with an idiotic, impulsive mindset, I decided. "Okay, I'm ready."


I sniffed, turning the axle clockwise a few times, and making sure there was enough space between it and the plasma cannon. I sniffed again, grabbing a tissue and putting it against my nose roughly, as I put the plating back over and secured it in place. It was a struggle, but slow and steady, right? I took the tissue from my face to look back at it in disgust, and threw it in the bin to keep myself from looking at it for any longer.

A few more finishing touches to the micro circuitry, magnets, and electrostatic lenses, and it was done. My greatest creation yet! Of course, this had been a project I had been working on for a long time, and somehow managed to keep it from the good doctor and the blond cyborg, but it was finally done and I was satisfied. The situation I was put in called for its completion, which I was sort of glad for; I don't think I would have gotten it done otherwise.

I placed my hands on my waist, looking at it with pride, with a dirt and oil covered jumpsuit. I turned to cough into my arms, letting out a distasteful grunt. Being sick at a time like this wasn't the best thing to ever happen to me. In fact, it was probably one of the worst. My throat hurt, my nose was stuffed, and my muscles were sluggish. I checked my phone to make sure my message got to Doctor Kuseno. "Feeling kind of under the weather today, won't be coming to the lab for anything. If Genos needs repairs and you want me to be the lead, well then not today! Sorry doc v( '.' )v - Jade"

I snorted, then stopped halfway through when it caused a slight discomfort in my throat. Feeling under the weather wasn't a lie, and I never told him that I'd be staying home, so really I was telling him the truth. What I'd be doing with my sick day time was however, different from keeping myself in a warm blanket and drinking tea, and it was that that I was keeping from him. It made me feel worse than I already did. The only consolation I could think of for myself was that it was important, then there was no problem with slipping a little white lie in, here and there.

Essentially, what I'd made was a full body armour. It was a combination of a dark grey and blue. There weren't many distinct features about it aside from the mask, which had a one way glass visor and LED monitor, the mouthpiece looking like a wide grin, and three horn-like headpieces. It's capabilities were as vast as I'd made them, and it wasn't unlike the models for Genos's arms. Unlike his incineration cannons, mine were made of plasma. And unlike a core system powering the armour's cannons, they were muon particles in the atmosphere; basically extremely powered and charged ions found in the air. The entire amour itself was powered by a green source, a reactor based off of the core's model. The amount of theorizing I put into its physics was mind boggling.

Looking at the time, I decided I should go, and stepped near the armour which opened up from the middle, except for the mask which was held on a bust. I walked back into it, the armour curling around me until it all clicked into place. I walked around in it to see if I felt comfortable, and as far as I could tell, everything was functioning fine. Glancing in a mirror, I saw how the suit went around my body. Being made of titanium and other metal alloys, it was rather large on me and made my normal frame look much bulkier and taller. If anything, my frame looked like that of a slender man with my armour on. My hands traveled to the metal mask, and putting it on, I found the whole ensemble actually quite androgynous. If I wasn't the one under it and didn't know any better, I wouldn't be able to tell if it was a man or a woman that the armour belonged to.

With the mask on, the complete system started up with the sensors pointing out various materials in my small home based workshop. A cross hairs went up on screen, locking onto the bust. I shrugged and went along with it, raising my arm to charge a blast that collected energy in mere nanoseconds, and released it. The bust combusted into hundreds of pieces, flying everywhere. A slight rush trailed up my back. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. That was so fun! What else could I blow up?! Reluctantly, I lowered my arm. I was going to have to clean it up later, and that was not going to be as fun as exploding things.

Grinning despite myself and my cold, I exited my apartment complex's basement with a sheet in hand, and shot off in the sky, this time being able to use my legs and my hands to balance myself. "Haf, handle the control surfaces, will you?" I requested, cringing at how hoarse and groggy my voice was. I sounded like a prepubescent boy, and it didn't help that my sinuses were clogged either.

The helmet had a built in mic, and Haf would always be connected to me, so this was an easier way of not just contacting them, but interacting with them too. "Would you also prefer for me to control the built in heating system, ma'am? If done precisely, I can create a humidifier for your nasal congestion,"

"You're too good," I praised quietly. It kind of stung my throat to talk, so I was trying to keep it to a minimum. "Please do."

A light steam flew into my mask, clearing my nose up a bit. I sniffed a few more times while wondering how Haf managed to humidify my helmet without steaming up the glass of the visor. Concentrating hard enough, I felt a small cold puff of air. Ah, I realized, Haf had made two different walls of air and managed to isolate them so the two had no interaction. They must have done something to the chemical compounds of the heating system of my suit to do that. It was impressive, and they had done it without making a mini tornado near my face.

Drawing ever closer to our location, I clenched my fists, my sheet crumpling in one of them. Looking down on the center from my vantage point, I gulped, realizing how many people were actually registering, and how many people would potentially fail. I landed in front of the center with an queezy feeling in my stomach, which didn't spell well for me in any way.

A few people looked my way momentarily, and turned away to go back to their own businesses.

With the shadow of the building casting over me, the task at hand seemed so much more daunting. I looked down at my sheet again, and uncrumpled it. It was the Heroes' Association registry form, with my personal information on it. I didn't want to be a hero for whatever rank they gave me, I was just tired of not being there when Genos was when he got hurt. I was tired of him being torn up when he came back for repairs. And I was tired of being out of the loop with monsters and evil organizations. I wanted to help, and I didn't care if that got me hurt.

"Woah! This place is huge!"

I turned around sharply to find a man whose face was shadowed and the sun reflecting off of his bald head. Saitama…? There was a pounding in my chest. That meant Genos was bound to be near! As the bald man approached closer, I noticed it was only him. The cyborg wasn't even near him! I looked down at what he was wearing. Maroon coloured robes… Despite only having met him, I figured Saitama wouldn't wear formal clothing. He didn't seem like the kind of guy. So who the hell was this?

"Oh, you're here too!" I jumped. Not-Saitama's attention was on me, and I didn't know how to react. I settled on an awkward wave. "Aw there's no need to be like that, man!" He groaned, stepping closer to me. He held his hand out to shake. "I'm Yonten! It looks like we're both aiming to be heroes, huh? I'm sure we'll do great!"

Uncertainly, I shook his hand, nodding to him in response. Yonten was a bald man which seemed to be the only resemblance he had to Saitama whatsoever. His eyes were an umber brown, and his face was full and round. His robes looked formal and traditional. I didn't know where he came from, but he definitely wasn't a city dweller.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you?" He observed, tilting his head to the side. It was like his eyes were looking through my mask. It was unnerving. Suddenly, he waved his hand downwards, shaking his head. "Bah, it's fine! I can do the talking for the both of us! Anyway, let's go!" His hands were on my back pushing us to the doors of the center, as I frantically tried to keep my balance. He was going too fast! Too fast! I shook my arms to hopefully convey those thoughts, though all he seemed to do was ignore them. I barely knew this guy and he thought we were friends?! I also tried to voice my protest, yet it went unheard.

The hand which was holding my registry form lost its grip, as the wind blew, and carried it away. "W-wait!" I finally yelled, cursing under my breath at how much irritation it caused in my throat. Yonten stopped pushing me, and patted my back as I hunched over to cough.

"Jeeze, are you good? Maybe you should should have waited until the next registry if you're like this, but I can admire you for coming anyways. I mean, don't misunderstand me, being a hero seems like it's interesting, but you'd probably be best when your better, because they do have the two exams, and doing them like you are now would be a pain!"

I growled lowly, keeping my tongue from lashing at him. He was pushy and annoying, and I didn't care if he was right. "If I don't do this now," I muttered, "then I won't have the courage to do it later." His eyes widened, as I turned away from him. I sighed aggravatedly. "I dropped my damn paper…"

"Hey," he murmured encouragingly, placing a hand on my shoulder, "maybe I can help you look for it?"

I scoffed, turning my head to the side. Yeah, we'd find it all the way in City W. "No point. The wind seems to want it more." I spoke gruffly, breathing heavily to the side.

"Well," Yonten exclaimed, standing up straight, "I'm sure they have extra forms in the center, right? I mean, I didn't bring in a form. They said on the website you can give your name at the front desk and you'll be validated." I raised an eyebrow warily under my mask. Had the website really said that? I wasn't sure if I was going to trust this man's word, but I supposed it was better than nothing.

I nodded in thanks, and moved ahead of him wordlessly. This was something I really wanted to get this over with. As soon as I opened the doors to the center, I was overcome with the noise of the center itself. It was like it was an event everyone is the city seemed to attend on a basis. Yonten gripped my shoulder from behind, and pointed out the front desk with a lady sitting in front of a computer. "That looks like where we're supposed to go." He was stating the obvious. Above the lady was a large sign, with all caps, saying, "REGISTRATION HERE!"

Yonten took a deep breath, and smoothed out his robes. "Watch me," he smirked and winked, then strutted over to the front desk. I followed behind trying to look like I wasn't associated with him in the slightest. This was going to be an embarrassment. He placed an arm on the counter of the desk coyly, and nodded to the lady.

"How may I help you two gentlemen today?" Her smile was strained, like she had put up with a lot of bull before we came in. With the crowd behind us which contained a ridiculous amount of strong men in spandex, I didn't blame her. I blanked halfway through observing her. ...She assumed I was a man, didn't she?

"Well, you see," he grinned courteously, tilting his head back, "me and my friend were looking to register for the exams." He motioned his hand my way, and I raised my hand to which the lady glanced.

"As they all are," she muttered, typing a few things on her keyboard with acrylic nails which made it sound only a bit worse. She looked back up at us expectantly, holding out her hand. She raised a brow. "Your forms?"

Now, Yonten balked like a deer in the headlights. "Excuse me…?"

"Your forms," she stressed, like it would make anymore sense to him. "You were supposed to send in your form last night, or print out the form to hand in today." She sighed despondently. "Look," she pointed a long nail to one of the sheets she had to the side, "we've got a few here just in case, but I'm only giving the each of you one, okay? I'm not going to accept it if you make a mistake. I've already dealt with enough…" She muttered at the end in a huff, crossing her arms. I wondered absentmindedly about what kind of people she did deal with. I imagined what she went through was a comical as the people here.

Awkwardly, Yonten took two sheets and a pen, to sign a little further down the desk away from the receptionist lady. I tilted my head to the side to examine his face at a better angle. He actually was quite attractive, and the fact he was flushed added to it all. "So," he trailed, "I feel like it's kinda my fault you lost your sheet, so let me fill yours out for you." I nodded in agreement. It was less work for me, and if I could get a gleam of his muscles when he was writing, I was set.

He started off with filling out his own sheet, mumbling as he did. "Oh yeah!" He shot up from his writing. "I haven't really told you about myself, have I? Well, I already told you my name is Yonten…" Looking back down at his writing, with a grin on his face, he continued. "Anyway, I'm a Tibetan monk, and I've trained at my monastery ever since I was a kid. I'm the youngest there, so my seniors have a tendency to look down on me, and that's why I decided to become a hero, you know? To prove myself to them. This is also the first time I've left the monastery, and I don't know much about the cities, but they really are different, yeah? It's so rambunctious and loud here. Back at the monastery, right now we'd normally be practicing katas with our weapons, or praying to Buddha. It's odd, but I like it!"

I smiled softly. He seemed really passionate about doing what he liked and not caring about what other people thought. It was charming. It didn't mean I still hadn't found him somewhat pushy and annoying, it just meant there was more good in him than what I initially found, and I was glad I did find more about him. "I almost forgot to ask," his voice brought me out of my musings, "what's your name?"

One sheet was off to the side, and the only thing that really was personal on the sheet was one's name. The rest of it was general and observable information, so Yonten only needed my name, and he could fill out the rest for me. He was a kind man. I had to admit, I liked him already.

I began to answer, "Ja-" but was subsequently cut off by my own coughing fit. Yonten didn't seem to mind, and wrote down the characters to my name, and I trusted he had gotten it right. "-de," I ended quietly. He nodded dismissively and handed both of the now completed forms to the annoyed receptionist.

She pointed the both of us in the same direction. Locker room number 15. It had me a bit confused. Were the locker rooms not separated by gender? Or were there co-ed rooms?

"Looks like this is the room, huh Jason?" Yonten stated proudly.

My jaw dropped, and I hunched over. H-he just called me Ja-son?! But I said Jade! Jade! I quickly came to a realization. My coughing fit…! He must have only heard the beginning of my name and filled in the blank with whatever came to mind! I had to go fix this with that receptionist immediately!

A shadow hung itself over my head. "I'm only giving the each of you one… If it has a mistake, I'm not going to accept it…" If I told her my name was wrong, would that qualify as a mistake? And then she wouldn't accept my entry?

"Uh, are you going to keel over again?" Yonten asked hesitantly, putting a hand on my back for support.

I barely paid him any attention. I was locked out then, to enter as myself. I could only register as this, "Jason," even though I wasn't him. I began to shake. Less of it as first, but it became more violent in mere seconds.

"Jason?"

In an instant, my back became straight, sharp, and tense, all in one. I slammed the side of my fist on the wall, and went into the locker room without an ounce of hesitation. I didn't care anymore. If I did any of this hero schtick, then the way I got into it? I didn't care. What I did with it? That was what was important. My resolve was steeled.

That same resolve immediately became shattered when my helmet's sensors locked onto another bald head, and a familiar energy source. My heart dropped to my stomach, and I struggled to swallow my own spit. The world hated me, it was the only explanation. First, I couldn't sign up as myself because of my coughing fit(because of course, today of all days I had to be sick), then they had to be here?! I knew Genos and his sensei would register, but did they really have to be in the same damn locker room?!

I slammed my head on a random locker door, while Haf sent me warning signs, saying, "Ma'am, I would advise you to not do this, as it could be detrimental to your health." I really couldn't have cared less. And obviously, I was causing a commotion so everyone started to look my way!

"So, the pretty lady gave me our locker keys, but I can't find…" Yonten's voice carried from behind, "Oh, Jason, you found them!" I growled, slamming my head harder. "Let me just… squeeze by here…" He grunted a few times shifting past me to get to his locker. "There we go!"

Yonten tapped my shoulder, and I held out my hand defeatedly for him to hand me my key. He additionally handed me a small pamphlet, which I recognized as one of the papers from the front desk. "It looks like the written exam starts in ten minutes," he said helpfully.

The cross hairs in my helmet locked onto various paragraphs of information; basic information about the association, a description of the registry, how long each exam would be, and it even listed that it was the 55th hero certification exam. "Haf, do some quick math for me," I muttered lowly so Yonten wouldn't hear. The association had been up for three years, so 55 divided by three meant…

Haf's calculations came on screen. "Evenly spread out, it appears as though the Heroes' Association hosts about 18 hero certification exams per year."

"And how many per month?"

"1.5, ma'am. Although, most likely one per month, and in four other months they include a second."

I nodded to Haf's solid conclusion. "Right."

Soon enough, the written exam came and went. They had split us into groups, and watching closely, I found Yonten was put into Saitama's group, and seeing how the world still hated me for no reason, I was put into Genos's group. The written exam was easy enough, it wasn't anything complicated. Sure, a few of the academic questions might have been semi-challenging, but Haf did most of them for me. Surprisingly enough, some of the hopeful heroes in our group got eliminated too. During the easy part of the entire process. What happened was that they had caused some disturbances. You know those kids during tests and examinations that have no idea what they're doing, so they just decide to flip the hell out? Yeah, those were the kind of people that got eliminated during the written portion. Seven of our cramped group of 35 were eliminated from the small lecture hall.

The worst part of the written exam for me personally? I was sat next to the damned blond cyborg. Yes, he was my friend, but he was my friend as Jade. Not this new Jason guy. It was awkward, extremely awkward. The unspoken agreement the two of us seemed to have was that we didn't talk. An unspoken agreement, indeed!

Then came the physical. That was more of a struggle for me. Since I was still sick and my muscles were still groggy, it would be more of a pain. But what no one told me was that we'd be doing it on our goddamn underwear! Hell, some of the strong men still got to stay in their leotards!

It was obviously going to be a problem for me, because Jade was under the accidental guise of Jason and she was no man! If I took off my suit, I'd be in a room filled to the brim with men in my underwear. That was not something my dignity would let me do!

When I came back out of the change room still in my suit, one of the proctors wasn't very pleased with me.

"Why aren't you undressed?" He asked crossly. I snorted. If only he knew to whom he was really asking that question.

"Well, you see," I started, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly, ready to go on a tirade of bull.

"I don't care," he cut me off, "just come back out undressed or I'll give you a penalty!" This guy really seemed to hate me for some reason. That or he had a gigantic stick up his ass.

I strolled back into the change room anxiously. There was no way there was going to be a solution to my problem. I charged into the washroom and placed my hand on the sink's corners to stare at the mirror. I looked over my helmet to see if I could look beyond the visor and find my actual face. I sighed disappointedly. I couldn't. I really couldn't. I couldn't picture myself being a hero either. But someone under the suit could be. Was that person really still me, however?

"Why don't you go out like that?" I jumped, turning to the washroom door to find Genos in all his cybernetic glory. I thought he was out there already. "You're a cyborg, aren't you?" HIs eyes were dangerously narrowed on me. I shook my head absentmindedly. He let out a small, "hmph," and left, just like that. He always had an underlying message to his words, and I only realized the meaning to those specific ones.

I turned to look back at the mirror. Knowing I was alone again, my hands rose to my helmet slowly. They were shaking. My hands were shaking. I pulled off my mask, and looked at my real face. My raven black hair was matted to my scalp, my normally bright green eyes felt dull and dead, and there was oil and dirt almost everywhere. No, Jade really couldn't be a hero. But Jason would be.

With as much speed as I could muster with my newfound determination thanks to Genos, I tinkered with the light displays and speakers in my mask, with Haf assisting me greatly. It felt like I was in there for hours, adjusting what I could to my mask, but it was only a few minutes. I was so sucked into my work. I rubbed the forearm of my gauntlet on my forehead, spreading what grime that was already there further.

Putting my helmet back on, the lights underneath my visors flickered a translucent light blue on and off, until it became still. The blue light went down my neck, all the way down to my feet. The hologram was stabilized. The blue light turned quickly turned to the tone of my skin, and over my armour came a lean body of a young man in his boxer briefs. "Testing," I said, surprised at how well the voice modulator was working. As my voice came out of my throat, the modulator adjusted it as it went through the microphone and speaker system. It was deeper, and dare I say, it sounded cooler. Jason was ready to go back out, and go back out he did.

"Hey, what-!" The proctor protested, his hand hanging out towards me.

I pointed to myself, more specifically my mask that was still on. "You'll let me keep this on at least, right?" My voice came out light and comedic. Yeah, I was so not going with the silent protagonist bullshit. I passed by the ass of a proctor steadily, taking my spot next to Genos on the floor. He was looking my way curiously. I gave him a two fingered salute. "Thanks for the pep talk, blondy." Mildly affronted, his head jerked back, but he regained his composure quickly, and gave me an acknowledging nod. And with that, the physical examination officially began.

Each portion of it wasn't very hard, although I don't think I can really say much about it considering I technically cheated with my armour. I very well couldn't give it my all either, otherwise it would have proved I was cheating. Genos however, his physical was phenomenal. He blew through each test like it was nothing. I had seen him fight before, hell I even constructed a training room for him before, but seeing it again in person was astounding. If he was so strong as he was, then how come he was so self destructive? I just didn't understand.

Either way, with both examinations officially done, it was time to return to the change rooms. On the way, walking near Genos, we both heard rumours of a man who supposedly broke every record within the physical test, and even discouraged many into becoming heroes. "Sensei…!" Genos concluded, and I couldn't help but agree. Saitama was the only one who fit that description.

And speaking of the devil, there he was accompanied by Yonten who was behind him excitedly. ...And they were both in speedos…! Both of them and their muscles were so toned! "Ma'am, your jaw has dropped." Haf so helpfully told me. I gulped. Shit, now was not the time.

"Man, I can't believe I came second to you in everything," Yonten griped good naturedly, "but you were really amazing, you know? You're skills are really impressive!"

Saitama rubbed his head. "I don't know about that. I guess we just have to wait for the results." His head turned our way. "Oh, you done too?" He was specifically asking Genos.

Genos's eyes were on Yonten warily, before responding. Yonten, walked up to me and spoke as well. "Jason, how'd it go for you?"

I shrugged. "It was alright, I guess. Nothing too hard."

His eyes lit up. "Oh! Your voice is different. So you got over you're cold, huh? That's good! I have to agree with you, too. I was hoping for something more challenging." He sighed, placing a hand on his waist.

I nodded. "Both of the exams were simple. It's kind of disappointing to know that's all it takes to be a hero." I felt it should have been something more. Something like throwing us into the wilderness for forty days with nothing but our wits, and the survivors would be the heroes. Then again, that would take more than forty anime episodes, and I didn't have the time for it.

"Yeah, definitely." He agreed. "We have an hour to wait for the results, so I'm going to redress myself." He reached into his locker to retrieve his clothes. They were folded really nicely, I observed. Making up some excuse, I went back into the washroom to deactivate my hologram.

To pass the time, we began to talk more. Although he had told me already of why he wanted to be a hero, Yonten had never gotten an answer from me. I vaguely noticed Saitama and Genos were looking our way, as if they wanted to weigh in on our discussion. "There's someone important," I looked up, and noticed Genos's eyes were locked onto mine, even through my visor, "I want to protect." My heart was palpitating, and I had no idea why. I nodded upwards to the both of them. "What about you two? Why did you take the exam?"

I was curious. Of course, I already knew Genos's answer, but I never learned why Saitama wanted to take the exam. I had assumed he had already taken it. "Oh, me?" His finger was pointed to himself almost boredly. "I'm a hero for fun, and wasn't recognized."

His answer was more than underwhelming. I felt my brow twitch. I shouldn't have expected much, especially from a man who was wearing a sweater that literally said the word, 'boobs,' on it.

My head turned towards Genos. "I am sensei's disciple, and will follow him wherever he may go." I sighed. At least it sounded more legitimate.

An hour soon passed by, and only the four of us, Saitama, Genos, Yonten, and I, received envelopes. The rest of the hopeful contestants were sent home in shame. Genos opened his first. "I got 100 points." He stated. It was true, 50/50 for both written and fitness portions of the exam, and a big black 'S' was at the top of his page. As he and the first baldy in the room wondered what it meant to be a class S hero, I opened my envelope.

"90 points, class A." I said with a frown. Class rankings were strange, and it really was a curiosity why heroes were ranked. Oh well, I sighed, it wasn't like I really cared.

The second baldy in the room also opened his envelope, and grinned. "93 points, also class A! Wait til the boys back at the monastery here about this!" Yonten waved his sheet proudly, back and forth. "What did you get, Saitama? I'm sure you've gotten an S class, right?"

Sitting on the bench and opening the top, Saitama's small smile grew a little. "Oh! The letter says I'm also…"

Genos and Yonten both smiled. I couldn't help but smile too. If anyone deserved to be highest ranking, it was definitely Saitama. "By the way, sensei, what did they ask you at the interview?" I raised a brow. They had an interview portion? As Genos recounted how he had gone through an interview detailing about how they had asked him about the House of Evolution, Saitama had moved to a window beaming the warm rays of the setting sun.

"They hadn't gone through and interview for you, had they?" Yonten asked me with a hand holding his chin. I shook my head.

"Sensei?"

I looked back towards Saitama whose face was the pinnacle of disappointment. "I'm just a C class hero with a score of 71 points."

My eyebrows furrowed. There was no way he was a C class, right? Looking closer, I noticed he had gotten full points for the physical, but the written…

"Stop analyzing it!" Saitama shouted aggravatedly.

I reeled back slowly. Listen to the man, don't make him anymore angry, I thought. Yonten was also visibly troubled by his fellow baldy's low ranking.

"It must be a mistake." Genos glowered. "I will talk to the person in charge."

"No, don't! You'll just embarrass me!"

On the PA system came a voice. "Mr. Genos, Mr. Yonten, Mr. Jason, and Mr. Saitama, there will be a seminar for successful candidates at 4:00pm. Please come to lecture hall number three."

Saitama sighed, waving his sheet. "Alright, let's go. All that really matters is that we all passed. Let's just get it over with and leave."

We all walked there, and I crossed my arms. Yonten, who was beside me, leaned over to whisper to me. "I don't get it… Saitama— it's like there's something as powerful as a god is in his body, you know? Even if he only scored 21 points on the written test, he should be ranked first in the registry for only his physical prowess! They even made him do extra tests in the physical just to make sure his performance wasn't a mishap!" It was sweet Yonten was troubled by Saitama's plight, but it wouldn't change Saitama's rank. Besides, he said he didn't want Genos to take it up with whoever was at the top of the chain, so it wasn't like we could do anything to help him.

I sighed. "Let's just let it be. It's his problem and he doesn't want us meddling in his business. He can deal with it how he sees fit."

Even with that, the monk hadn't seemed satisfied. "Yeah, I suppose…"

We entered the lecture hall, and the cyborg and the hero for fun were both seated in the front middle desk. Yonten and I took the seats to the front right. At the front of the room was a man in a snake print suit. His hair was swept to his right, with a sunken looking face. He congratulated us all on passing with very low levels of enthusiasm, though I suspected all of us weren't very interested in what he had to say. His expression soon turned irritated and he was focused on Saitama who was chewing gum obnoxiously loud.

"Now one of you only made it on a fluke," he certainly wasn't referring to me, "so unless you want your luck to go to waste, I better see you giving it your all."

I scoffed, turning my head. What a massive waste of my time to only be targeting Saitama. I could see Yonten's smile also turn down into a massive frown. None of us were really happy about it.

Suddenly, he jumped up on his desk and began to perform hastily made martial arts moves with various cries. Cringe worthy. Yonten leaned over to me. "His form isn't very impressive…" I laughed airily so I wouldn't be heard.

"Aspire to be a fine hero like me!" Yonten made a silly face, to that prospect and I laughed a bit harder.

The bubble Saitama was blowing suddenly popped and covered his face, and I was sure I fell over then, holding my stomach because of how much it began to hurt. The snake print guy began to yell about something, but I hadn't bothered even showing any more respect, because damn if what happened wasn't funny!

Eventually, we all exited the center, and Yonten had handed me a pamphlet that was on the snake print guy's desk. He gave all of us a bow, saying with sincerity, "It was very nice to meet all of you! I hope we can work together in the future!" I saluted him appreciatively. Even if he had written me down as Jason, Yonten was still a pretty cool guy, and it really paid to have given him the benefit of the doubt. Then he walked off, to his monastery, I assumed, to show off how he'd done.

I also turned to Genos and Saitama. "I gotta say the same thing. It was really cool meeting you guys. Have a nice evening." Saluting them, I activated the boosters in my boots and flew off.

During flight, I wondered if I was going to act on my thoughts. It wasn't like there was any harm in it, in fact, the guy needed it if he was so undervalued. I stopped in front of Saitama's apartment door, and my armour folded down into a briefcase, and I waited there for a while. Absentmindedly, I checked my phone and noticed I had a message from Genos from several hours ago.

Doctor Kuseno told me you're sick? It read.

My fingers hovered over the screen, wondering if I should bother replying back to him. They began to type on their own. Yeah, i didnt come into the facility today I hit send, then typed up another message. Its nice to take a break tho, hope I didnt worry you too much

I put my phone in my pocket, and leaned against the wall to the left of Saitama's door. I felt it buzz, and I took out my phone again, noticing Genos had messaged me back. Do you need me to come over to your apartment?

I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face. He knew how I rarely became sick, and when I did, it was usually really big, leaving me in a mess of tissues and blankets. Nah, its nothing big, just a small one this time, but i drank my tea like you always say i should do!

Good

Are you proud of me? (づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ

...What is that…?

Theres this site i found and it has all of these hilarious emotes you should try them somtime! ̿̿'̿'\̵͇̿̿\=(•̪●)=/̵͇̿̿/'̿̿ ̿ ̿ ̿

I'd rather not

I snorted, trying to hold in my chuckles. I could visualize his befuddled face, and it was hilarious. Suit yourself! ಠ◡ಠ

Genos tried to change the topic. Are you going to be free tomorrow if you're not sick?

I was surprised at that. What did he want me for? Probably, why?

I waited anxiously, my hands becoming clammy, and he finally sent his message. I want to spar with Saitama-sensei tomorrow and was wondering if you could help me collect data

I felt my head fall. Of course it had something to do with Saitama. I should have expected this more of his character now, although I didn't know why I was so dissatisfied with his answer. Sure I wondered for a bit, thinking back a little. You know, i actually might need you to come over

Oh?

I think im running a femur I laughed harder. Get it? A femur?

...Yes, I get it

Then you remember how i used to tell you all those shitty bone puns, right?

All too well

I felt tears form in the corners if my eyes, as I tried to contain myself.

Oh yeah, howd the hero exam go? I added, just to give myself some breathing time.

I got Class S hero certification, and Sensei got C class

That doesnt seem right

I agree, I feel like Sensei deserves more than that

Well, congratulations anyway! Now youre officially his disciple, yeah?

Yes, but in any case I'll be waiting at the facility for you tomorrow afternoon

Sure, see you then! I put my phone back in my pocket, chuckling to myself as I soon became breathless and doubled over. I wiped my eyes. Puns and Genos were always an amazing combination. I waited outside Saitama's door a little longer, tapping on my briefcase, and humming along to a tune I vaguely remembered. Finally, I saw him come up the stairs, and he continued onto his door like I wasn't there. I blanked.

"Hey, Saitama?" He turned around, as if he just noticed me.

"Oh, you're… uh J...?"

"Jade, yes, that's my name." I tapped my foot in an annoyed manner, but ultimately sighed, trying to release my exasperation. He didn't deserve to be at the end of it. "You'll have to excuse my appearance and voice. I'm kinda sick, but listen, I wanted to talk to you about something." I was still in my jumpsuit, and it was covered in a bunch of oil and dirt.

He hummed, opening his door and holding it open. "Is it going to be long?" He asked cautiously, his face becoming a little more hesitant.

I shook my head. "No, we can just talk out here." He looked back into his apartment with a frown, but turned back. "It's going to be short, I can promise that." I offered.

He took it up, nodding. "Okay."

I released a breath, thinking over what my overall message really was. "So, all I wanted to say is that Genos is really excited about being your student, you know?" I smiled, tilting my head. And Genos really was excited. He felt different somehow, and I felt it was all thanks to Saitama. "I feel like I know he's going to be in good hands if it's you. You're gonna be a great sensei for him, I can just tell. Thanks for agreeing to be his sensei anyway. You'll do amazing!" I bowed. "Thank you!"

"Uh, yeah, you too." He said, and walked inside of his apartment awkwardly.

It was hardly the goodbye I was expecting from him, but then again, we didn't really know each other, and I already learned that with him, I shouldn't have had expectations in the first place.

On the way home, I left with a smile on my face. It was going to be a good day tomorrow.


I grunted, wincing. Where was I? The last thing I could remember was something about a surgery? Oh yeah, my brain supplied me with an answer, I needed surgery for my knee. Knee replacement surgery. I shifted in my bed to make myself more comfortable. I coughed a few times, and cleared my throat. It was hoarse. I needed water. "W-wat-" I muttered weakly, reaching my hand out. I felt something in my grip, and my fingers curled around it. It felt like a glass.

I opened an eye slowly, trying to sit myself up. There was no need to, as my bed inclined itself. I lifted the glass to my face, relishing in the cold liquid running down my esophagus. I coughed into my arm. "Thank you doc-" I turned to face him, but instead of the doctor like I'd been expecting, I was face to face with Genos. The cyborg who probably wanted nothing to do with me anymore. "Thanks," I murmured softly, trying to look anywhere at him but his eyes. They were piercing.

He raised a brow, and turned his head flippantly. Now was a good time to talk to him if any, but I realized, I just couldn't. He didn't even seem to be near me on his own accord. I doubted he would be, anyway. Doctor Kuseno must have convinced him to at least he here. There was no other explanation.

"Um," I said hesitantly, "you can sit down if you want to." I motioned a hand to a chair, near my bed.

Roughly, Genos grabbed the chair and sat down in it crossing his arms, still refusing to say anything. We sat in a tense silence for the most part, and it felt as if nothing about that was going to change.

Well, it wasn't like it could have made it any worse, so I decided to crack a joke. "It looks like you're not the only one who has a bit of metal in them now, huh?" He raised a brow again, almost silently asking for me to go on. "The doctor told you I got knee replacement surgery right?" I took another sip of the water. "My leg was broken when I fell after… the cyborg, and it agitated my knee so much that it ended up broken too. He told me earlier when I agreed to the surgery that I'd have a metal knee, so I guess in that aspect, we're a bit alike, huh?" I smiled with melancholy. "You're not the only one who's metal now."

He only grunted in response. I frowned. "Well you don't have tibia jerk about it." His head turned my way dangerously, almost as if he was insulted that I made a pun in his presence. A small grin was tugging its way to the corners of my mouth. "I'm ulna trying to help." He scoffed. It was the closest thing to a laugh I had gotten, so I was going to take it. "Come on, it's humerous! None of this is tickling your funny bone?" I waved a hand defeatedly. "Fine, have it your way," I placed a hand over my heart, "but with you being here and all, I feel just a little less bonely." He rolled his eyes at that one. Or all of them. I guess it really didn't matter, he was just tired of my shit.

I leaned back and closed my eyes. The atmosphere felt a little less tense, and a little more comforting. I was glad. I felt something being placed on my good leg. It was hard, and flat. I opened my eyes again and found a chessboard. In fact, this was one of the chessboards in my room that I played with the old man every other day. I looked back up at Genos who was vehemently avoiding my gaze. "He said you like playing this…"

Shocked, I nodded dumbly. "Uh… y-yeah! Want to play a few rounds?"

We set up the board several times after all of our matches. More often than not, he'd win, or we'd end up in a stalemate. I only managed to win once. And as it ended, I found his presence to be more comforting. With my eyes struggling to stay open, we ended our last game of chess. It was another stalemate; my queen and his were locked in a fierce battle.

If Genos and I became anything that day, it was friends, and that thought couldn't have made me feel any happier.


20 damn pages. That's how long this chapter is. Some of this is also pretty rushed, so please do leave any criticisms if you have any. Tell me what you thought of the chapter! Was it good, was it bad, was everyone in character? Oh, oh, oh! Tell me what you think of Yonten! He's a pretty fun character to write, and it's always fun to introduce new OCs. I made him a Tibetan monk instead of Shaolin, cause I felt like that one's kinda overused, you know? Either way, take this joyful bald man from me, because I am shoving him into your arms, even though they are already filled with eggs!

So, in this one, there's the aftermath of Haf attacking Genos, and the aftermath of Genos and Jade's relationship of that event. Then I just basically vomited everything about the certification exam in one sitting. And if you're wondering, yes there is a reason why Jade is Jason. If I revealed it however… Well, let's just say the story wouldn't be as fun if I did.

Oh yeah, I should probably also say, any grammar mistakes are mine and mine alone, so please do scream at me if I miss any of them, especially in this one, since it's larger and there's more room for mistakes! (It is 11pm whil I'm writing this one, this is not good for me. Someone take my computer away from me.)

Shoutouts to Imagine476, supermeg12 (you have reviewed for each chapter so far, I think, and hell if I don't love reading them!), (for some reason, it won't let me write your name, but !) (you found out I literally lurk the OPM reddit, like geeze, give me a warning next time, will ya!?), Hispanicin (you literally vomited in the reviews and I am becoming concerned, do I need to get you some medicin!?), professionalemail101 (THE SMOOCHIE SMOOCH STUFF WILL PROBABLY NOT HAPPEN FOR A WHILE, DON'T BE DISCOURAGED THOUGH, IT WILL HAPPEN. But seriously, this might be kind of a slowburn romance wise!), DancingPeony (it's been a while, but I hope you've enjoyed/are enjoying OPM! It's a fun fandom!) and xGuiltyXGigglesx03 (thank you so much! I hope I can come to meet your expectations!), and everyone who reviewed for previous chapters! You are all really freaking amazing, you know that? And hell, we're already over 30 favourites, 50 follows, and 20 reviews! That's awesome!

Thank you all again, from the bottom of my heart!

Reviews are love and motivation!