"To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society." - Theodore Roosevelt


The summer sun was blazing down into the windows, the light glaring onto the computer screen and bouncing back onto my face. I squinted and turned up the brightness, but the light out the window was beginning to annoy me from the corner of my eyes. I sighed, getting up from my chair to turn down my blinds. Getting back to my desk, I took off my sweater, and wiped my forehead, feeling the amount of sweat which had accumulated there. It was too hot.

I stood in the middle of my apartment, turning my head to look at the video of Genos and Saitama's fight. It was playing that moment again, the point where Saitama had thrown the last punch. Where worry and adrenaline once consumed me in that moment, was now replaced by a blank, empty feeling. I had watched the same video more than ten times already; two from each drone's different perspective.

I was tired, and I simply couldn't see myself completing the fight's analysis today. I needed a break, at least for a few hours. I didn't want to disappoint him, and I knew I wanted to get this done as soon as possible, but I had to at least message Genos, to let him know it wouldn't be done until the day after.

As I opened up my phone, my eyes slid across the date, and I felt myself grow lethargic. I really couldn't bring myself to do any work. Not today.

I decided to call Genos, feeling it'd be better to say over phone than text. It rang once, and he picked up.

"Yes?" Not a 'hello.' Through his flat tone of voice I could tell exactly what he was thinking. 'I know Jade's my best friend and all, and yeah, maybe she does deserve some time to herself, after all I can be a big idiot who destroys her every piece of hard work, but I'm feeling a very particular kind of meanness today, so I'm not going to dignify her with a hello.' What a guy.

"Hey," I spoke softly, crossing my arm over my chest. There was no need in getting worked up; I was mad at myself, not him. "I won't be able to go over the footage of your fight with Saitama today. I just… I'm not feeling well…" There was something in my voice somewhere that was cracking, and my eyes were moistening at the edges of my vision. I hated it.

There was a small silence, and nothing came through the receiver. I began to worry he had hung up. His voice came back on again, and with it was my relief he was still there. "It's fine," he assured. In a lower tone he added, "it's their anniversary, isn't it?" My lips curled inwards, and I tried to keep my sharp intake of breath away from my phone. From Genos's purposeful lack of reaction, I assumed I had failed.

"Yeah," I murmured through the hitches in my breath, "it is." I ran a hand through my hair tiredly, not caring if I messed it up. "Look, I can't— I don't think I can do any work today, I can't bring myself to. Everything about today feels bad somehow…" There wasn't any other way to describe it. My mind was taxed, my body ached… All I wanted was a break from the world, no matter how small.

"Alright," his voice echoed through the speaker and became blurry to my ears, drowned out by my own mind. "Do you need anything?" He had asked it so caringly, I couldn't help but wonder if he had Haf say it for him instead. It was more than I could possibly ask for.

"No," I forced a laugh, "I'll be okay on my own for now." There was a slight hesitation in what I added. "I— but if I do need anything, I can call you, right?" I was conflicted about asking him. I knew I could have had need of reassurance, I seemed to need that a lot more often, but I didn't want to cause him any trouble.

"...Yeah."

I smiled softly. "Thanks. I appreciate it." There was a warm feeling in my chest, and no matter how little the gesture and offer was, it was nice. "Hey, are your arms doing okay? I didn't get to take a look at them myself, but are you okay with Haf?"

"The process went smoothly, and nothing went wrong. Movement feels fluid and blasts feel as though they come by more easily. Large scale attacks are much more accommodating, and consecutive attacks are faster by .4%. I've written down more of the changes I have noticed in a notebook as per your request. Overall, I can feel a difference from Haf's work than that of yours or Doctor Kuseno's." He was going on a tangent again. I felt like I hadn't heard one in years, and it was so welcome.

I laughed, a real one this time. "Wow, you don't have to go rubbing it in you know. Haf's cheeky enough as is! I really don't want a problem child on my hands." Haf was well meaning most of the times, and most of the times it was very helpful. What wasn't helpful was pointing out the obvious and the tone they insisted on using with me.

He hummed over the line, "I'll let Haf know you're disappointed in them."

"Noooo," I complained jokingly. "Haf's sensitive, don't hurt them!"

"I concur, Miss Valles." Haf's voice came over from my computer, and I heard Genos scoff softly. I began to chuckle under my breath, trying not to be too loud in doing so.

I let out a long, calming breath. "In any case, since you tested out your blasts, does the training room need any improving or repairing?" The training room was made by the good doctor and me back when Genos's aggressions weren't dealt with very healthily. The room contained high level combat centered bots and simulated environments, which I normally had to fix the majority of the time. For every gripe I had for every time I had to work on it if Doctor Kuseno didn't, I found it was always worth it in the end. Any way I could help Genos, I'd take it.

"I thought you weren't going to work today?" He asked.

It wasn't intended to be malicious, I understood that. It was only curiosity, validation to confusion, and yet, to be reminded of how I really was, of what day it happened to be… My smile dropped. I rubbed at my arm, the bad sentiments creeping down my back once again. "Y-yeah…! Yeah, you're right, I wouldn't today of all days! I just— I thought I'd fix it up another time, not-not as if it required any immediate attention…"

Realizing his momentary mistake, he began again, "Jade—"

"Don't!" I bit frantically. Realizing I had said it so loudly and rudely, I coughed in an attempt to regain my composure. "You didn't mean it, I get it, I just don't want to talk about it..." I grimaced. I had made things uncomfortable and incredibly uneasy. I needed to get out of this quickly. "I-I'll probably be away for the day, so I'll try to get back to you tomorrow or something. I'll shoot you a text to let you know when I get back. See you."

I heard him sigh, furthering the disappointment I had in myself. "Yeah, I'll see you later." The call ended.

I groaned, pressing my hand against my face angrily. I screwed up, I let it get to me and I gave Genos a hard time as a result. My head turned slowly to my phone screen, and my emotions grew even more heated. I harshly turned and threw my phone on my couch, watching it bounce down until it laid flat. "Damn it!" I cried, grasping at the sides of my hair. I seethed through my teeth. Why did it have to be today? Why now?!

In the background, the audio from the fight continued to loop, Genos's grunts and shouts going on and on. "Incinerate," he exclaimed, the blast being more than giant, Saitama dodged and tapped his shoulder, and the blond cyborg went for another strike. And then it went on with him requesting his sensei not to go easy on him, the godlike amount of rushing wind going into the bug, then it repeated, on and on and on.

"Damn it…" I murmured, slowly lowering my hands back to my sides. I turned towards my computers, and dragged my feet there, turning the volume to a near zero, saving what little progress I made in a document (it was just the title and the word 'the'), and turned my monitor screen off. I didn't want to think about it anymore. I went to pick my phone up, and checked it to make sure I hadn't seriously broken anything. Luckily I didn't, or at least nothing that I could see.

I walked into my bedroom, and looked around. Compared to Genos's minimalist and empty room in the facility, I must have looked like a hoarder. I had clothes strewn from side to side, and on each dresser and cabinet, there were small knick knacks and items. I moved to one of them, a short wooden dresser, and picked up one of the two picture frames which were on it. I examined it, resent bubbling in the pits of my stomach. I laid it down, the picture facing wood.

Meanwhile, the second frame I kept upright, giving it a half hearted tender sort of gaze. It was the three of us, Doctor Kuseno, Genos, and me. The doctor and I were grinning for all we were worth, I was holding up a peace sign, and the resident cyborg had his mechanical arms crossed with an amused yet exasperated expression on his face. It wasn't taken too long after he defeated his first monster. I remembered I had jumped on him when he came back, almost wringing him excitedly.

"Genos, you did great! Amazing job out there!" My enthusiastic teenage self exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck like a python.

"Jade, get off of me." He said monotonously, though likely irked she had caught him off guard so easily while he had killed a giant mutated giraffe only moments earlier.

"Come on!" She ignored his earlier statement, and instead dragged him further into the facility. At a point she got behind him and covered his eyes as if he couldn't see through them. It wasn't that she hadn't known, it was simply the principle of it.

She stopped and uncovered them, revealing Doctor Kuseno, banners, streamers, and a large cake. The banner which had obviously once said 'Happy Birthday,' was crossed out with black paint, and in large blue lettering read, 'Congratulations, Genos!'

I looked back on the memory fondly.

I began to pick up some of the clothes I left on the ground and threw those which were dirty in my hamper, reminding myself laundry day was soon. With my bedroom somewhat neat and tidy, I began to change into somewhat more formal attire than my normal casual wear.

By the time I was done, I decided I almost looked professional, which for me was quite a strange notion in of itself. I rested my hand on my dresser while peering into a mirror, and felt cool metal beneath it. It was a thin linked chain. A necklace, an old one. Gold. It wasn't worth much in terms of monetary value, but it was priceless. Even if only for the day, I put it on as well. It had been a family heirloom, and I supposed I wanted to look better than my Sunday best.

I passed through my apartment a few more times to make sure everything would be okay while I was gone. The oven was off, the tap wasn't running, but as I checked my room for the nth time, I remembered the small lump beneath my pillow. The plasma gun. A part of me desperately wanted to bring it with me, yet I couldn't possibly fathom why. The trip was going to be relatively far since it was in the countryside rather than the big cities, so there wasn't harm in it, I supposed.

As I was about to come up with another reason as to why I shouldn't carry a very dangerous self manufactured firearm on my person, I was recalled to the fact I wouldn't even be able to conceal it. I grabbed a coat and stuffed it in an inside pocket.

The point I exited and locked my door was the same moment I began to second guess. Not the gun that was, I was entirely sold on it already, after all I needed something to stay safe against mysterious beings. I was second guessing going. It'd been some time since I'd last visited, and they probably wouldn't be very welcoming to my presence. I couldn't imagine it going down well.

"Hello Jade, are you doing okay?" I was reminded I had a resident monk on my hands, and with his tentative tone, he seemed to sense my uneasiness, like it was rolling off of me in waves. Or maybe he heard me. The walls in the building were thin.

"Hey Yonten," I said, turning to him with a sheepish smile. Like me, he was standing outside of his door, his red and orange, loose robes on, with gauze wrapped around his hands and arms. On his back were a pair of hooks, curved, sharp, silver, and intimidating. I looked down at my feet, knowing I wouldn't be able to lie to him, "honestly, I don't think I am."

He pressed his lips together in a thin line, as if he was unsure about what to say, then he suddenly burst with a very toothy grin, boisterously laughing from the depths of his diaphragm from out of nowhere. It wasn't much of a real laugh either. It was stale, strained, silly even. It was a chortle, loud and ugly, but it wasn't that he was reacting to something terribly hilarious. It seemed more like laughing for the sake of laughing. Out of the sheer uncomfortableness and absurdity it provided, I began to chuckle. And it grew louder and more real with each passing moment.

After a good minute of a cackle collection, it died down, and Yonten had a hand on his hip, asking, "do you feel any better? Even a bit?"

I didn't know how to answer. Was his method strange? Yes. Weird? Absolutely! Bad? No, it was different. Never in my life had I been comforted by someone laughing uncontrollably. I decided on shrugging. "I… suppose I do," he grinned. "I don't really understand what you did, but it helped." Yonten was a paradox. At one moment I thought I understood him, but he proved to catch me completely off guard. He was ambiguous, and I didn't know if I much liked it.

"Inner turmoil isn't something which can be resolved by words alone. It takes years until you can say you've been fully taken care of, and even then, there are still going to be scars, and small reminders. If I can help lighten the load greatly with small and silly actions now instead of petty words later, then I think I've done something to help." He cleared his throat. "I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I don't have the necessary words to make you feel any better. The only thing I can do is laugh until you laugh right along with me."

"Wow," I breathed, "you really know how to preach, huh?"

"Yes!" Yonten chuckled, nodding. "There were many times where my brothers were very strict and hard on themselves, and they ended up neglecting their own well beings. That happened to include their own spiritual enlightenment, so I often had to show them what they were doing wrong." In a tone I struggled to hear, he added, "though it wasn't as if they took advice from a runt like me…"

I recognized that in his attempt to cheer me up, he went into a subject that upset him. Knowing the change in his appearance and the weapons on his back must have meant something, I decided to change the subject. "So, what's up with the bandages on your arms? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" There certainly wasn't anything wrong with them back at the hero examination.

Noticing the shift, he perked up like a dog hearing the word 'walk.' "Oh, these?" He lifted his hands, palms facing the ceiling, stretching his wrists. "They're so I don't strain any of my muscles too badly while I'm using my weapons." He pulled the twin hooks from his back, crossing them over each other to show them to me. "These blades are called hook swords, mostly used for self defense and peacekeeping. I figure a hero's most basic responsibility is keeping the peace with the people, so I'm sure hook swords will work well as primary weapons."

"Well, Mr. Hero," I said, spreading my arms out, "you really ought to check the building's policy on your swords. You don't know what the landlord will do unless he catches you." I hoped to any god out there Mr. Oro never found out about the weapons and firearms I had with me.

Yonten replaced his twin hooks on his back, giving a wide grin. "I suppose I should, although I might forget." His emphasis on 'forget' told me he probably wasn't going to tell our landlord anytime soon, something I could say I respected. He took a deep breath. "Well, I should do some patrolling. I want to test my mettle against actual monsters in order to prove my utility in the field." Amicably, he waved, and began to speak in a tone he probably thought was suave. "Goodbye then, Jade! Maybe if I see you out there, I'll end up saving you!"

I wouldn't count on it too much, I thought, waving right back at him. As he left the building, I knew I'd have to go soon too. Going from the city to the countryside wasn't a short ride. It'd take a few hours at least, and I still needed to get there before dark. I contemplated taking Jason's armour if only to get there faster, but I decided to get there by car instead. I had one under repair in the garage I rented monthly. There wasn't much left to fix, maybe the ignition system needed a bit more work, though nothing which required extensive attention.

I jogged down the stairs, opening up the door to the garage, and found the secluded space where my car was. It was a humble little hatchback, racing red in colour, compact sizing, and a simple two seater. I hoped once I was finished with restoration, I could try to customize it with more advanced technology and other sorts of systems. It was a good side project if I wasn't working on anything else.

I grabbed the oil and grease stained rag off of the hood and threw it on one of the tables, while I also grabbed my keys. Opening the door and inserting the keys in the ignition, the engine purred healthily. Not in perfect condition, but certainly working better than expected. The door opened, and I drove out.

With each passing kilometre, as the distance between me and my apartment building grew further and further apart, more weights began to tie themselves to my heart. My mind grew more murky and depressed. Without friends, without Yonten to laugh with or Genos to vent to, the full extent of my mourning was eating away at me.

The sun, which had been a constant reminder of the everlasting scorching heat and my lack of motivation to work, was being hidden by dark grey clouds. A small victory for me at least, it meant I wouldn't die in the heat of the country.

Minutes became days, even as I was driving, though through it all, I looked at the changing scenery. The difference was obviously drastic, with industrialization and a lack of it. Most of the buildings in the cities were tall skyscrapers, and as you left them, the skyscrapers were shorter until they weren't even existent. There was more room for nature to grow, and the grass was definitely greener on the other side.

The sky also looked cleaner. With all the work houses and plants, especially the ones operating in City Q and light pollution, the was a clear contrast between the city and country skies. There might have even been a slight difference in cloud composure, but without a test for acid rain, one wouldn't know for sure. It was comforting to know how much more environmentally friendly things were.

By the time I heard asphalt crumbling underneath my tires, I knew I was where I needed to be. I found a little place to park at the edge where the gravel and the grass met. Getting out of my car, I glumly noticed by the black metal fences were more of them, one of them a hearse. I frowned, looking over the fence to see a large family, all dressed in black over an open grave. I sighed dejectedly. The graveyard was occupied then, and I wasn't about to walk in. That would've been disrespectful to them, and my parents.

Annually, I went back to the graves where my parents' ashes were buried. It was always on this day I became noticeably more agitated and pessimistic. The first time the resident cyborg had noticed me acting so different than normal, he didn't seem very concerned, not until it got worse. This time, when he tried to reach out to help, I pushed him away. Like I always did.

And this time, it didn't look like I'd be able to speak to my parents. I assumed what was happening was a funeral, and I didn't know if I wanted to wait until it was over, in which case it also seemed disrespectful, or if I just had to visit another day. I weighed my options, and even though I had traveled for more than an hour without fulfilling my desire, I decided I'd just leave. It was better than loitering around the entrance of a cemetery.

With great despondency, I got back into my car and made my way to drive back home. Who knew, maybe I'd find it in myself to do that analysis after all? And yet, I was still shameful. The painted yellow and white lines on the paved roads were taunting me, telling me I was too much of a coward to actually walk in by that group of people, and I began to think I should have gone in, said hi to my parents, and left. Instead I ran.

Suddenly, a blur moved in front of my vision on the road, and erratically, I slammed my foot on the break, car lurching hard, and breathing picking up significantly. I tried to calm myself down. It was probably just a squirrel, maybe a cat, or I was just seeing things; people did tend to mention I was looking more like the mad scientist type of person every once in awhile. But no. This blur was bigger than a stray cat, it looked more than eight times one's size.

I looked in my rear view mirrors, maybe I could catch a glimpse of it. My eyes widened, and my breath was lost on me.

There were only a few thoughts which dawned on me when I looked.

Round.

Brown.

Sharp quills.

And a lot of them.

It was a porcupine. A giant human porcupine monster thing was running down the road. There wasn't any other thing that way except for the cemetery. There was a family there. A mourning one.

I could ignore it. I didn't know them, they didn't know me. I hadn't even seen any of their faces. My fists grew tighter by my sides. There wasn't a reason for me to go back, so why was I thinking of going?! I wasn't a hero! Jade wasn't a hero, Jason was!

I was a crazy idiot. I had to be, otherwise I wouldn't have been so stupid to think Jade and Jason were different people. And I wouldn't have done it.

I still had time to make it back to that graveyard. Any heroes deployed by the Heroes' Association wouldn't. Even if I tried to call Genos or maybe even Yonten, they wouldn't make it in time. Besides, this was out of any Cities' jurisdiction. I was the only one who knew a family had the possibility of being slaughtered.

I floored it, making a wide U-turn, and swerving my vehicle to right myself on the path. My muffler had basically decided to stop functioning, for the soft purrs which had been the sign of my engine's vitality, transformed into the full on mini explosions they actually were. You could hear me coming from a mile away.

I quickly set the hatchback in park again, tumbling through the door without an ounce of grace. I held myself, using the roof to do so, and I struggled to keep from falling. My legs were about to collapse. Through the bars of the fence, the porcupine monster was holding three people, threatening to crush them in his arms. They were two young boys and their mother.

Before I knew it, I was running. My feet were moving on their own. I jumped the fence, grabbing the plasma gun from my jacket, turned off the safety, and shot once at the monster's leg. I almost missed. I could have shot one of the boy's feet.

"Son of a bitch!" The monster swore in a deep, throaty, reverberating voice, like phlegm was caught in the middle of his throat. He was more than twice my size, deep brown fur and white quills covering his body, while his eyes were beady and black. Funnily enough, his arms and legs were human and muscle ridden. The rest of him was quills and fur.

He grabbed his knee in pain, dropping his three hostages in the process. The mother fell flat on her face, struggling to lift herself up. Her sons scrambled to grab her arms, and managed to get out of the way. The rest of the people from the funeral were standing to the side, too petrified to move.

"Get out of here!" I yelled, waving my arm over to the gate. As if woken from a collective trance, the people screamed and rushed, pushing each other to be the first out the doors. Glare set firmly on my face, I turned back to the monster, gun trained on him.

"Do you know what you've just done?!" He bellowed angrily. "Do you know who I am?!"

I laughed nervously, putting on a fake bravado. "Sorry, I don't. Do you wanna tell me, maybe? I'd love to know your backstory." I had to stall for time, everyone needed to get away as soon as possible, and I didn't think time would be very generous to me. And the monster, whether I liked to admit it or not, was incredibly intimidating. He looked like he could snap me in half easily.

"That was a family of taxidermists!" He growled, as if to garner sympathy. I wasn't able to say it was working. "I loathe taxidermists with every fiber of my being! It was because of them my beloved pet porcupine, Chobi was killed… and made into a mere head mount…!" He began to weep, tears flowing down his face like a waterfall. He pawed at his eyes with his large hands, and cried harder.

I didn't know whether or not he was truly a threat, but I wasn't letting my guard down.

"And now," he sniffed loudly, "because of the love and revenge I desire for Chobi, I've become this," he gestured to himself like it was something to be proud of, like turning into a monster was something to be proud of. "I am Yamapoprick!" I snorted. You sure are. "So why don't you just put down that little pea shooter of yours and let me finish those bastards off?" He was smug and arrogant, grinning at me like I'd be doing him a great favour. He was underestimating me.

I looked behind myself just for a brief moment to see if everyone had escaped during his rambling, when my body was slammed into a tombstone. I choked, any breath I had left in my body leaving me, pain wracking my front and back. There were quills sticking out all over my body, most prominently on my arms and front. It was like getting a needle, but the nurse applying it was sadistic and very stab happy.

I heard him cackle. "Now stay out of my way!"

I wasn't prepared for this. I was being too rash. My gun only had six plasma cartridges, and I already used one on his knee. My head fell to the side, and I noticed a vague limp as he trudged slowly away. But I could still do something.

My gun had dropped right beside me, and weakly, I grasped for it. Five more cartridges left. I had to be careful about each shot. My fingers curled around the grip, and I stood back up, my left side slumped ever so slightly. I shot at his back.

His hands went around him, and he yelled, turning around accusingly. "Leaving s-so soon…?" I goaded, smirk resting on my otherwise pain contorted face. He roared, causing my smirk to disappear.

Like a bull seeing red, Yamapoprick charged. It must have been some sort of tunnel vision, because while I was doing my best to get up and get out of the way, he thankfully missed, instead ramming into stone, causing it to crumble. If I got hit with another charge, I knew someone would break, and it wouldn't be him. I made note to avoid physical confrontation if possible.

As he recovered from his crash, I experimentally tugged at one of the quills in my arm. I cringed immediately. It was like a normal porcupine's; easy to insert, hard to take out. Microscopic barbs were a bitch.

Painfully, I lifted both of my arms and regretfully shot at the base of his neck. Four. I expected him to drop dead, but he got back up. He cursed again, but all the plasma seemed to leave was a burn. He was doing more damage to me than I was to him, that much was apparent.

"So you're some long ranged coward?" He spat, wiping the corner of his mouth.

"W-what can I say...?" I teased. "I don't like getting up close and personal w-with ugly monsters like you."

His quills abruptly flared, and I shockingly realized what he was about to do. I ran for cover, behind another tombstone. Out of nowhere, one of his quills pierced stone. Right next to my head. I stumbled back out of fear, and he his laugh was disgustingly wet and cold.

Frantically, I ran for my car, hiding behind it, and crouching low. I tried reaching for my phone, fumbling a few times. He was behind me, his laugh giving me a sense of how far away he was. It wasn't time to be stupidly brave anymore. I needed help, and I needed it now.

"Haf," I whispered, deciding this was the most scared I'd been in my life. Not even heights had me so afraid. "Haf, I-I need you to get me Genos as quick as possible, this is an e-emergency situation!" Without wasting a moment, Haf connected me to the line. Each passing tone had my heart pumping harder and harder until it felt like I could no longer move.

He picked up, though it did little to relieve me. "Jade?"

"Genos," I blubbered, feeling close to tears, "I'm at the cemetery and there's a mon-" I realized too late Yamapoprick had stopped laughing. There was the abrupt groaning of metal, and the shade I'd been under disappeared. "-ster…" I dropped my phone out of shock.

He began to chortle, loud and ugly, holding my hatchback over his head with his gross, muscular human arms. "You aren't calling for help, are you? I'd be mighty disappointed if you were, especially if it were a hero!" He hummed, resting a finger by his cheek, mockingly contemplative. "You know what, you go and call your, 'handsome' and 'mighty' hero," he leered dangerously, "it'll only make me all the more infamous." To make things worse, he threw my car away, sounding like it was breaking in its everything, where it landed on its side.

He was like a predator looking down on his prey. With each step he took towards me, I could only crawl back. My hands were pressed against the gravel, and through my phone, I barely heard Genos calling my name.

"What a nuisance," the monster snorted. In one quick movement, he crushed my phone with a giant foot.

My hand went over my mouth as I released a chilling breath. I crawled back as fast as I could, trying to pick myself up to run. As soon as I did, Yamapoprick picked me up by my hair, pain assaulting my scalp. I panicked. Crying out, I fired my gun, one, two, three times, and I was dropped, left sitting on my ass.

Trails of steam flew away from his chest, yet the only things left there to remind me of what I'd done were tiny burn marks, near invisible because of his dark fur.

It. Did. Nothing.

I wanted to seethe, I wanted to get upset, I wanted— I wanted to cry. I was so frustrated. I wasn't able to subdue one damn monster on my own. Was I that worthless?

His breathing was ragged, although I doubted it was because I hurt him. It was more of an angry sort of breath, heavy and thunderous. "You think that stupid pea shooter can do anything to me?! It can't! You know why? 'Cause you're trash! You're an insect!" He grabbed my gun and pointed the muzzle in his mouth, as if he wanted me to kill him. "A'll show ya, dis'll do nothin' ta me!"

I was shaken.

Insect… Trash… Was I this weak? Was I this bad? My hand curled into a tight fist. Was I doomed to always watch from the sidelines? To watch people die? But was I so pathetic that when I'd actually gone to protect others, I could barely protect myself?!

I squeezed my eyes shut and release my frustration with a wail. I took the shot.

Warm liquid ran down my head. I didn't dare open my eyes. I was overwhelmed. I didn't know what to do, confusion was the only thing running rampant in my mind. I began to sob. Left on the ground, wracked with pain, and emotionally overwhelmed, I sobbed.


Hey guys! It's been a very long few months for me, so I apologize for this chapter being so late. (Like three months! How bad is that!?) Hopefully, I'll have one more chapter up before the summer ends, but I suppose we'll see. But we have over 80 favourites and over 100 follows as of this chapter! I can't thank you guys enough, that's amazing! You guys are amazing!

Yonten's hook swords are based off of actual Chinese hook swords and they actually go by some pretty cool names! Like the tiger head hook, or the shuang gou. They're primarily used by monks with self defence and warding off enemy attacks, so I felt like it'd be useful for monster control and buying time.

With Yamapoprick and Jade, I was originally going to have a hero swoop in and save her, like Yonten or Genos, but then I thought, 'Jade's not really the typical damsel in distress,' so now she's just a damsel who is very distressed. Also it probably feels like a cop out to have him die so suddenly like that, so I'm just gonna say for the majority of the shots, the plasma wasn't on bare skin, it was his thick fur absorbing most of the damage. So when the plasma connected with the exposed muscle in his mouth, it went BOOM, dead. Like how he visibly limped when Jade shot his knee.

Other than that, there's not really anything else about the chapter I want to address, but have any of you guys seen the dub of One Punch Man yet? I'm keeping up with it just because I'm curious, and I gotta say it's pretty okay. I'm kind of on the fence with Genos's voice, ironically enough.

Reviews!

RintinDestiny: Thank you, you're so sweet! I'll see if I can better grasp onto Saitama's character, however. Honestly, I haven't thought that far through! I know I want to follow the anime, but I've used the manga as my resource more often than not. I don't want to get into the new manga arc until it's animated, but I don't want to wait until that is. My plan is either to end this story where the first season of the anime ended, or do a bunch of original chapters/arcs. It's undecided right now, but I'll figure it out sooner or later!

passion. love. life: I'll try to update more, then! It'll definitely be something when they do get together! With Sweet Mask, you're pretty close to what I planned to do, but not exact! If anything, there's more of Jason than Jade. And I'm glad you thought that was a sweet moment, thanks!

FantaPanda: Thanks! Well, I do love to address people's questions or subjects, so I think I should be thanking you! Saitama is tough, but I'll figure it out one day. I'm glad you found that last bit humorous!

shadow-dog18: I'm glad you have! Hopefully by now you've watched the anime and read the manga/webcomic! I feel like I'm moving too slowly to catch up to some of these reviews during the time they were actually posted! I really can't wait to fully develop Jade's character, it'll be fun to change her for better or for worse as times goes on. Thanks again!

And to everyone else who reviewed (DreamLightMin, Guest, Sad rad fish, Crystal Blue Butterfly, Lunar Loon, and 1Laure-Lo) thank you so much!


Extra: In which after rain, earth hardens

Doctor Kuseno knew his charges, and he knew them well. Jade, for all her troubles, was a smart and intuitive individual. He knew Genos, despite how aloof he tried to be, cared. Maybe not to those outside his circle, but he was loyal and devoted to a fault. But for all of his charges' positive characteristics and aspects, he could always name two negative ones. Jade was aggressive and careless, and Genos was rash and too selfless. Sometimes they made him wonder if it was anymore possible for his hair to go grey.

So when Genos came back to the facility after rushing out from a seemingly normal phone call, supporting a bleeding Jade who looked like a pincushion, Doctor Kuseno chided the both of them for worrying him.

Jade was sat up on a table where he could safely remove the large looking quills and disinfect the wounds, while Genos was outside the room, most likely pacing as he waited. He'd had to cut her jacket and shirt as the quills had gone through the fabrics.

As he finished taking out the last quill (there had been about 40 in total), he made sure none of the quills he removed broke off or left splinters. After that was done, he applied an antibiotic ointment to each wound. He'd have to monitor her for the next few days for possible infections, maybe get her a rabies vaccine (with human/animal monster hybrids, you could never be too sure).

As she groaned, rolling her shoulder, she asked him if there was any way to speed up the healing process. By this point, he supposed she was quite done with going through pain. Well, he'd said with a rustic smile, no one's found a surefire way to speed the organic human healing process, so it wouldn't hurt to develop one yourself. She returned his smile, then slowly and tenderly, as not to hurt herself, wrapped her arms around him.

It surprised him, her hug. In the four years he had worked with her, Jade had always been emotionally expressive, but it wasn't often she was so affectionate. Perhaps this third near death encounter had finally let it set in. In any case, he returned her hug. She was like family, after all.

She said her thanks, and although he opened his mouth to warn her, she got up and opened the door. Shirtless. With Genos right outside.

At first, Genos had looked concerned, ready to address any problems Jade might have had. As he noticed she was missing something however, his eyes seemingly rolled to the back of his head, and Doctor Kuseno swore he could hear the young cyborg overheat. Oh dear, he thought, that's not very good for his inner machinery.

Jade paused, and almost as slowly as possible, looked where Genos refused to. Maybe too calmly, she slammed the door on his nose, and grabbed the shirt the doctor was smugly offering. He sensed she knew he was about to say something snarky, so she stuck her tongue out at him like a child.

Moving to open the door once more, he heard her sigh, "whoo, let's try that again," and Genos still proved to be embarrassed as Jade told him to get over it.

As he worked to clean and sterilize his tools, with a small chuckle Doctor Kuseno wondered when the both of them would stop worrying him so much.


Again, if you guys have any questions, I'd be more than happy to oblige!

Reviews are love and motivation!