"Power is so characteristically calm, that calmness in itself has the aspect of strength," - Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton


What was supposed to be lunch last night had turned into a late evening dinner. As it turned out, the location Genos had decided on was further from the rural areas than we had previously thought. The walk hadn't been as bad as it had been in getting there at first, at least. So by the time we had gotten to the udon place Saitama recommended, it was very apparent that only one of our little group of three was severely starving. And it was neither Saitama nor Genos.

The two of them had decided on testing their mettle against the restaurant's challenge. An entire bucket of spicy udon. Not the small kind of sand pails either. Large. Extra large. I, myself had decided on a medium sized bowl of niiza carrot udon. Although I was hungry, a medium bowl was more than enough. Like phở, the serving sizes were large no matter what size you chose, so a medium was technically a hefty large to me.

So when Genos was finishing his udon by slurping it from the bucket, and Saitama had tapped out from the challenge with a noodle or a piece of snot I thought I could see hanging from his nose, I lost what appetite I might have once had. And I mourned my poor stomach.

It was around that time too, that we had heard sharp gasps and uncertain whisperings coming from the staff and clientele of the establishment. I didn't bother turning to see if it was really anyone of interest. It turns out it had been, and I was gaping as he had addressed Genos. I didn't know who he was, all I knew was he was ridiculously attractive. Then he introduced himself as Class A Rank 1 hero, Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask. I was positively flushed the entire time he was there, like I was in a trance.

At the same time, there was a part of me that detested his presence outright. I didn't know where it came from. It was instinctual and had nothing to do with his appearance. I recognized the same hostility in Genos, and it was when the blue haired man said he wanted to talk to the blond cyborg outside, and Saitama had said something about rookie crushers that I knew where the source of my unknown vexation was. I silently swore to myself, if he did anything to hurt Genos… It almost surprised me in a way. My infatuation for any man I found remotely captivating was overpowered by care for a friend.

When the two of the more well known heroes exited the building to go out back, I let out a sigh and murmured my worry to Saitama.

"He's probably fine," he had said, drinking up the rest of his water and crunching on the leftover ice cubes in his glass.

"That's just it," I tapped my fingers on the hardwood surface of the table, trying to find anything to keep me distracted. "I want to know one hundred percent that he'll be okay."

"You know him, don't you?" There was that blank look on his face again, the one I wasn't able to read. He could have either been asking me out of curiosity, or maybe he actually wanted to comfort me. I didn't know.

I felt irked for some reason. I knew Genos for well over four years now, so I could more than safely say I knew him. "He's my best friend," I admitted impulsively. Maybe we hadn't started out that way, but I knew during our time with each other and with the doctor, we had grown. And maybe Genos didn't think of me as his best friend, but I knew I must have been at least a friend. I knew I was more than a mechanic or benefactor. The banter we held with one another was something we just didn't do with other people.

It was weird to say it out loud like that, and saying it made me think more on how true it was. Genos was my best friend. The only other person my age who I could relate to, who I could share and divulge and rant to. And I was his ear whenever he needed to get something off of his chest. But it was so candid of me to say. It was… kind of nice.

"Huh," Saitama uttered, scratching his cheek and rocking back and forth in his chair. I waited for him to say anything else. I stared. He avoided my gaze, continuing to scratch his cheek. My eyes narrowed and I stared harder. No change.

I let out a puff of air defeatedly. He wasn't going to say anything else, although maybe I could ask him something I was wondering about. "Hey, Saitama?" He hummed, a sign he was kind of paying attention at the least. "Remember when I swung by your apartment after the Hero Registry and I said you were going to be a great sensei for Genos?" I waited for him to nod, and sure enough, there was a small tilt of his head. "I was just wondering, what do you intend to teach him?" I smiled, leaning forward slightly in excitement.

It may have been too soon to ask considering he had sparred with Genos only hours earlier from my asking, but he had to have something, right? He could have picked up from Genos's fighting patterns, learned what could be improved. That was what a good analytical teacher would do, right?

The bald man let out a sigh through his nostrils, a serious expression washing over his face as he folded his hands out in front of him. This was the same face, I realized, the same one when I realized he had been terrifying instead of terrifyingly handsome. The atmosphere seemed to shift, and Saitama opened his mouth to talk. "I guess I have to be honest with you, huh…" My smile turned down to a frown. This didn't sound good. "Truthfully, I don't know if I can teach Genos anything."

"O-oh," I murmured tenderly, feeling disappointed. I was worried. Saitama was strong, there was no other way to describe it, and I couldn't deny it, but could he really not teach Genos? And what would Genos say if he knew the man he so wanted to really be his sensei, couldn't teach him anything? "Okay," I breathed, trying to come up with something desperately, to grasp for something to convince him otherwise. Genos— he needed this. I wasn't about to let go of what he was determined to get. "I know you can't really do anything for him physically— that's what he has me and Doctor Kuseno for— but you can still do something right? Up there?" I tapped at my temple, hoping he understood what I was trying to get at. I was just making this up as I went.

He tilted his head, his serious expression once again turning blank, his arms crossed against his chest, and a thoughtful frown tugged at the corners of his lips. "What do you mean?"

That's what I was hoping you knew, I thought. "Uh, well," I rubbed my wrists, moving my jacket's sleeves up to my elbows. It was getting a little warm. I really should have taken it off from the beginning like Genos had said. "I— crap, what do they call it? You know!" I started snapping my fingers, willing the words to come to the forefront of my brain as if to jog my memory. "M-mental training, that's it! Rigorous mental training! See, like those movies, right? I'm sure you've trained your body too, and it must have had some sort of mental strain, but nothing like a good mind to rest on your shoulders! So, maybe you could do that." I rushed and slurred through my words, the lot of them jumbling together, just so that I could stop talking as soon as possible. I only hoped my point got across.

He seemed to consider it for a few moments, leaning back in his chair, hooking his arm around it, and nodded his head a bit. "I guess," he surmised.

With that, my excitement seemed to grow once more, like air was being blown back into a balloon. He was really going to teach Genos! Well, no. Maybe he was going to teach Genos! With a good chance! I grinned, wiping the not so imaginary sweat from my forehead. "Awesome! You have no idea how much this'll help! God, I even have a whole list of things I wish Genos would learn!" Of course I had a list. I had a lot of lists. I made them often as a way to simmer down, to vent when I didn't have anyone to rant to. Genos's carelessness just happened to be one of the points on his list.

Saitama seemed to perk up for some reason. Was he also inspired by the prospect of teaching Genos now that he had an inkling of an idea? "List?" He inquired, resting his hand on his fist. "You have one? Can I see it?" There was something like an inquisitive look on his face, and I could only feel compelled to get it to him.

I nodded. "Yeah, I-!" I stopped mid sentence and turned as the people in the establishment began to murmur again. Genos came walking back in, not a scratch on his arms, and no trace of any kind of scuff marks on his clothes. I was relieved, and I felt my shoulder drop. Momentarily, I turned my attention back to Saitama before going to Genos again. "I'll get it to you later." I waved at Genos with a grin as he took his seat beside me. "So you beat up the hot guy, huh? Shame, but I guess he deserved it."

He raised a brow, folding his hands in his lap. "I didn't beat him up,"

I blinked, and tilted my head questioningly. Saitama seemed as confused as me, maybe less since he had more of an idea than I did. "So, he wasn't here to fight?" He asked, shaking his glass filled with only a few more ice cubes. "What gives?"

"In short," Genos said, gaining somewhat of a suspicious look on his face, "he came to welcome me."

Hearing the sure footfalls of shoes on wooden planks, I tuned out of the conversation to see three women approaching our table. Upon the end of Saitama's confused inquiry of what welcoming Genos meant, one of the younger girls assumed the blond cyborg was friends with Sweet Mask, and asked to shake his hand, which was then followed by more people asking to shake his hand, or even stopped by to say hello to thank him for his service as a hero.

I had teased him about it on the way home, saying he had an ever growing fan club now, thanks to association from the blue haired man. Genos scoffed, and told me sarcastically he hadn't seen anyone gathering for me. By that time, we had also said goodnight to Saitama who was on his way back to his apartment. Me and the resident cyborg, however? We were still having our normal banter.

"Well, all I'm saying is that my udon was much better than your bucket of spice strings," I was walking with my hands at the back of my head like I didn't have a care in the world, and it certainly felt like I didn't. There were no worries at the forefront of my mind. All I was concentrated on was that feeling of giddiness I always had whenever I was having a good time. It was like an exciting calm before a bad storm, if that made any sense. Like a high before coming back down to earth. And all I had to focus on was a jovial (more on my end than his) conversation with Genos, who was carrying all three of my cases.

"How would you know? You didn't even try any." He pointed out, as if what I was saying was blasphemy. How dare I insult his spicy udon?

I tutted him, wagging my finger in his face. "O ye of little faith," I crooned like an old sailor, "did you really think I wouldn't swipe some while you weren't looking? Food always tastes better when it isn't yours."

"No, that's impossible," Genos argued with a curious expression, "I finished the entire serving. It's not possible you'd have taken even a millimetre of any of my noodles." His hand went to his chin inquisitively, and I suppressed the urge to laugh at how seriously he was taking this, like he had failed a mission to keep me from infiltrating his compound of udon noodles.

I shrugged dismissively, somewhat satisfied I managed to give him a fair shock. "I never said it was your food."

Genos stilled and stopped walking. Looking back from where I was ahead, I noticed and walked back to his front. "Jade, please tell me you didn't." His gaze was worried, like I had committed a fraudulent crime. Surely taking a small piece of food from his sensei hadn't bothered him so much.

"Don't worry," I sighed softly, frowning in contemplation, "Saitama noticed but he wasn't mad." I even offered to give him a bit of mine as compensation.

"That's not it." He stated, looking down at his feet. His fingers were curled into fists. He honestly could not have looked any more troubled than he did at the moment.

"Then what is?"

Genos took a deep breath. "You potentially interrupted the circulation of Saitama-sensei's diet."

I balked. "W-what…?!" He was not serious, there was no way!

"You potentially interrupted the circulation of sensei's diet," he repeated with a raised brow.

"I heard what you said!" I squawked, trying to calm myself down before I did something regrettable. I rubbed my temple. Gain composure, remain calm, I thought. I forced a grin on my face. Just keep grinning. With a sweetness that was almost deadly, I spoke up again. "If I promise not to ever touch Saitama's food ever again, will you let this go?"

He thought it over. "That's satisfactory," he nodded.

"Good," I said, and under my breath I bitterly added, "ass…"

"Did you say something...?"

"Nope!" I scratched at the back of my head, deciding that since we were on the subject of Saitama, I might as well have continued with it. "Anyway, I know I've only really looked at your fight with Saitama once, but I might have a hypothesis as to how he became so strong, besides— you know, that is was solely caused by his whole muscle training regiment thing."

Genos looked at me with open interest, telling me to go on. I looked around us, to make sure no one was going to hear. If Saitama's strength was going to be discussed between the two of us, it needed to be in a secure location. Frowning, I told him the information could possibly be delicate, maybe we should talk about it at the facility. Genos had slapped his forehead, wondering why he hadn't thought of saying so earlier. If anyone had information concerning his sensei's secrets, it wouldn't spell for good news.

By the time we had reached the facility, it was even darker outside, maybe past midnight, while beside me, I felt like I could hear Genos's core thrum in excitement. I had laughed. It was childlike in a sense. Childlike was not a word one would use in describing the blond cyborg very often. It was endearing.

I clasped my hands, sitting at my desk with Genos in front of me as he set down the cases. "This is only a hypothesis, so even if it does end up being wrong, we'll have to go back to the drawing board. You know that, right?"

"As long as it's plausible, I don't think I really care," he breathed in a blunt tone. "If it gives me any clue as to how Sensei is so strong, it will be worth it."

Letting a smile grace my face, I felt somewhat proud. As long as it was plausible… "Right," I pulled up a few pages on the Internet about the ten percent myth, and showed them to Genos on the monitor of my computer, "basically, my hypothesis banks entirely on the ten percent myth. Briefly explained, it's believed that humans can only use up to ten percent of their brains at a time." I scrolled down on the page and highlighted a passage. "The thing is, is that this is a pretty commonly used trope in the media, and the theory has been disproved multiple times." I could feel Genos's dissatisfaction roll off of him in waves. "But," I interjected between him opening his mouth, "tests have proven that people used more than ten, but less than twenty percent of their brains when completing mental or physical chores."

His eyes lit up as he caught on to what I was getting at. "So you think Saitama-sensei is using more than a limited percent of his brain than a normal person is supposed to? That he's broken a set human limit?"

"You hit the nail on the head," I nodded, "only this hypothesis is still full of holes, and can easily be poked through. It's all I've got though." I sighed, looking down at my folded hands in my lap. I had wished I could come up with more. I was actually kind of disappointed with myself.

"No," I looked up at Genos and was surprised to see an awe inspiring look on his face. I could see it; he was looking at gold. "It's a good start, great even. This theory could be more than plausible and we haven't even taken a look at the recordings of Sensei's and my fight yet!" There was an uncontrollable amount of joy on his face. Someone who hadn't known him for as long as I did wouldn't know, in fact he would probably look blank like Saitama, but never had I ever seen or heard Genos being this happy. It made me feel like I was on top of the world right there with him.

I rubbed the back of my head, ruffling up my hair with a sheepish grin. "Well I'm glad watching all those sci-fi movies last week pulled off somehow. There's this one I'd think you'd like, it's called…" I was cut off by my own yawn and I checked the time at the bottom of my monitor.

"Ms. Valles, it has struck half past midnight. I do advise a safe departure home." Haf chimed in from the ceiling speakers.

"Yeah," I squinted at the blurry numbers on screen, "I was just about to say." I squinted further. Either my eyes were really tired, or I needed to wear my reading glasses more often.

As I stood up from my chair, I noticed that to my right, Genos did too. "I can walk you home," he offered, "it's much too dark outside, and it's a long way."

"Nah," I shrugged. I covered my mouth as another yawn escaped me. "Besides, we still need to exchange your arms. It won't be comfortable to sleep in the AST arms." I tried to lead him to his repair room, but he wouldn't budge.

Sternly, he said, "You need to sleep. Go home. Haf will take care of it."

My eyes widened for a brief moment before turning back to their normal size. There was no way Genos was so trusting of Haf already despite the operation that afternoon, and I didn't want to leave him unattended. But he was making an effort. I was confused and I was sure it wasn't safe, until I my lips curled into a smile knowingly.

"Is that an order, or are you telling me as a friend?"

Genos sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Whatever answer he gave, he knew I would tease him about later, he just had to pick his poison. "I'm ordering you as a friend." I laughed. He scoffed lowly. "Go home. Get some sleep."

As funny as it was to me, I was still worried. "Look, are you absolutely sure about Haf taking care of things? I don't want you to be alone."

He looked at me questioningly. "I'm not alone. Doctor Kuseno is still here."

Ah, yes. How could I forget the good doctor who sometimes slept here despite now having a house of his own, and not to mention was probably taking a nap right now?

"Still…"

"I do have the numerous contingency plans you've installed into my software for Mr. Genos, or have you forgotten?" There was a tone in Haf's voice that I was not pleased with.

"Don't you get cheeky with my now!" I scolded the ceiling with an accusing finger stretched out, avoiding the gaze Genos was sending me. My cheeks were becoming flushed again. I sighed, trying not to let it get to me too much. "Fine! Fine. I'll leave you two to bond or whatever." I walked from my desk and placed my large suitcase where it was before. I contemplated taking my two briefcases home before deciding it wasn't worth it. My arms were sluggish anyways.

Approaching the exit, I yelled out, "Alright, I'm gonna head out now! Stay safe and have a goodnight!" My foot, not even halfway through the doorway, I heard my name being called out by Genos.

Suddenly, something was being thrown at me, and I fumbled a few moments before finding out what it was. In my hands was the small blue plasma gun I kept hidden under my desk just in case the facility ever got attacked. Thankfully, I never had to use it before.

Genos stood a few feet in front of me. "You stay safe too," he said before presumably stalking off into his repair room again.

"I… yeah…" I nodded dumbly. He had already left.

That night, much to my relief, I never had to use my gun, and I got home without any complications. Even so, I left my gun underneath my pillows, and as I felt my eyes grow heavier with each passing moment, I whispered to no one in particular, "Stay safe…"


Niiza carrot udon: noodles kneaded with carrot, and are characterized by their vivid orange colour. I chose this type of udon specifically because it is one of the four main udons served in the Saitama Prefecture of which One Punch Man's setting is based off of, and is well known for their udon. The more you know.

I'm not actually sure if udon serving sizes are as large as phở sizes, but it's the only thing I can really compare it to. I've never had any Japanese noodle broths. Only Chinese, Malay and Vietnamese, so feel free to correct me on udon if you know anything about it.

Jeeze! I am so sorry it took so long to update! Like two months! I almost never take that long to update! Real life just caught up to me all at once, and I had so many tests and assignments to worry about! This chapter isn't even as long as I'd like it to be either! But content wise, I suppose I'm kind of satisfied. I'll try to make the next chapter longer and hopefully come in a smaller period of time!

Sometimes it's funny to mess with Jade through Genos too, what with the way he said that she could have potentially interrupted Saitama's digestive system. Fun. I also added the ten percent theory in there because it was originally my theory on Saitama's strength and I felt it had some sort of place there. It's kind of similar to the webcomic's explanation for his power, what with limits, so I was overjoyed when I read it! That being said, if you haven't read the webcomic or manga, then I implore you to do so!

Moving on to reviews…

typinbeat: I swear, the site will not let me write out your name unless I take out the dot. It was really confusing the first time when I tried to reply to you. Yonten, with him I plan to make him someone who loves to help anyone but also causes trouble, whether it be knowingly or unknowingly. Truthfully, during the fight I also felt something was lacking, but I didn't know what, so thank you for pointing it out. I wouldn't say it's so much as Genos getting emotionless, but he sort of has a one track mind concerning strength, and that sometimes conflicts with his relationship with Jade. Not to mention she loves to annoy him to no end, and it gets tiring after a while. I'll try to make him seem less emotionless in future chapters! Thanks for your input!

FantaPanda: Hey, thanks! I don't know if that final moment will necessarily be awkward, but certainly conflicting! And I do read the webcomic! I'm certainly interested in the new arc, but if I were trying to fit this story into the webcomic cannon, then I would say what I have in mind is more of a prelude, I suppose, so hopefully that'll turn out well! It took me so long to update to that it's been two months since Easter… I hope you had a good one! Thanks again!

Bob (Guest): Honestly I try not to take criticism to heart, but they are important if I ever want to improve. At first when I started fanfcition writing it wasn't as easy as it is for me now, and I'm kind of ashamed for acting so badly towards negative feedback so badly before, but I am glad that I've improved in that sense. And I appreciate the time you must take to write your reviews! As much as I may be stroking your ego by replying to you in the author's notes, you're certainly stroking mine with your reviews! They're well thought out, and they've helped me a lot! Considering the "physics" in this story, I'm no physicist, in fact I'm an ever improving art person, but I do endeavor to do more research for this fic, especially since you've pointed out my flaws.

The moment with Jade skipping out the part with Genos's and Saitama's conversation was just a plot device to keep from rehashing their whole conversation. We've already watched and/or read the story itself, so I figured skipping a few parts from cannon wouldn't be out of the question. :P

Yonten himself is actually based off another anime character who isn't that much dissimilar from him, but I'd applaud you if you found out who Yonten was based off of. I'll give you a clue! His name starts with an M! Not entirely based, mind you, but from memory of my childhood, so they won't be the same characters! Good luck if you actually do try to find out who it is!

I'll keep Saitama's characterization in mind. I intend to write him, and I don't want to botch his character too horribly, so I appreciate the warning! Thanks again, and sorry for making you wait so long for this one!


Extra: In which Saitama gets a list

Saitama was bored.

Of course, this was a normal occurrence with him, but he was just so bored.

He wouldn't even have minded if there was a monster attack soon. It was dull, even if he had fought Genos yesterday. He wasn't able to go all out; he didn't aim to kill the guy after all! No, Genos just wanted to spar, so he gave him something. And when Genos had asked that he attack him with all his strength, he had still been holding back. Maybe not as much as he should have, but it still got the cyborg to take a step back and get udon.

Saitama frowned. Speaking of udon… Genos's mechanic, J-Jason? No wait, that was someone else. It was definitely something with a J in it. It was a colour, right? Oh, right, Jade! She expected pretty highly of him, kind of like how Genos did. She said something about mental training, didn't she?

He sighed. He didn't even know much about that, but if it was what was going to get both the mechanic and the cyborg off his back, then he'd give.

In a lazy fashion, Saitama decided to get his morning on with by turning on his television and brushing his teeth. As he rinsed out his teeth, he noted the lack of monster activity. It really had been a dull week so far.

Entering his kitchenette, he was still feeling kind of weary, so he made himself some coffee.

Saitama went on to go on his laptop, checking his e-mail and the sort. His inbox was filled with a bunch of junk mail, spam, things he didn't really care about. It was the e-mail near the bottom of his list of new mail that he found interesting. There wasn't much of a real address to it, but he did see the name, Valles Jade. She had said something about sending him something, hadn't she?

At the subject of the e-mail, he remembered.

"Genos's list of problems," it read.

Saitama clicked on it, and he had to physically keep himself from spraying his monitor with his drink. This was crazy! He scrolled down, but there was no end in sight! There was no way he was going to be able to get through all this, he'd be going gray by the time he was finished with it! You wouldn't be going gray, you don't have any hair, a voice in the corner of his mind told him. Shut up, he replied hotly.

Still, he checked the first few points to see if any of them would actually prove useful.

1. Is careless with himself (he ruins all my hard work!)

2. Literally announces to his enemies what he'll do. "Stay still, I'm going to eliminate you." Like! Why would you say that?

3. Will consider self destructing if the situation is dire (I know he thinks it's for the best, but it's not worth it, I don't think)

There were a few more of the like, and some of them were even kind of funny that when he read them over, Saitama thought Jade was sharing an embarrassing story with him instead of a list of things he should teach. Numbers fifteen and twenty were his personal favourites.

15. Is a disrespectful little shit when he doesn't know better (but won't be one to you, because he WILL know better)

It was crossed through, but it was still eligible.

20. Fought someone when he was shopping with me. I only wanted to get one type of metal from a supplier when he decided to go off and look at the other wares and insulted the shopkeep for lack of organization and quality. I did not end up with my metal.

He cracked a small smile at that one. Genos was kind of weird, huh? So was Jade if this was how she made her list.

Well, Saitama thought leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful expression, I guess I might be able to come up with something.

And he was going to think of a plan… Until he was distracted by a new online flier filled with products more than twenty five percent off.


I tried writing Saitama. I TRIED. It's weird and I'm not satisfied with it, but please do tell me what you think!

Reviews are love and motivation!