Author's note: We're now half way through the story! Thank y'all for your reviews, favs and follows! :D
Ar: Thank you for leaving a review, but I'm confused, I don't understand what it's supposed to mean…? Is it a secret code? Or did your cat step on the keyboard? (If so, I love cats so I feel very honored)
oOo
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"I'm back." Genos announced, closing the front door behind him.
"Yo, Genos."
Lying on his side on the futon, Saitama didn't bother turning his head to greet his disciple. He just vaguely waved at him. His bald head rested on his palm and one of his legs was folded up, relaxed. He was wearing white boxer shorts and nothing else.
Genos entered the living room and noticed the instant ramen cup, empty on the table. Clearly Saitama had to fall back on this for lunch since his disciple was gone almost all day long. The television was on let out a monotonous voice and some background piano music.
"I'm sorry to come home so late, Saitama-sensei." the cyborg apologized and sat down beside him. "The meeting lasted longer than I thought. If I had known, I would have made you a bentô."
"Mh? Doesn't matter." Saitama said absent-mindedly, focused on the tv screen. "Hey, Genos, did ya know worms are male and female at the same time and reproduce by fertilizing each other?"
Confused, Genos blinked and glanced at the television. It was obviously a nature documentary. Two viscous worms were wriggling head to toe against one another and a soporific voice was describing it all.
"No, sensei. I didn't."
"Me neither."
Looking deeply bored, Saitama scratched his buttocks and yawned so widely Genos could clearly see his glottis. Finally, as Genos stood up to throw the empty ramen cup and the unevenly divided chopsticks in the bin, Saitama looked away from the nature documentary and glanced at him phlegmatically.
"How was your S class meeting, by the way? Are there other monster attacks coming soon?"
"No." the cyborg answered and strode over his teacher to open the door-window and get some fresh air in the stuffy smelling apartment. "It's dead calm and there haven't been a single attack since the alien ship. We've only been summoned for an information meeting about the reconstruction of the HQ of A city."
Genos opened the curtains and the daylight rushed inside. He would have to clean the windows soon. Outside, birds were chirping in the peaceful silence of the ghost town.
"Ah. Nothing interesting, then. And how is the reconstruction going?"
Saitama changed channel. The worms documentary disappeared and now it was a teleshopping channel praising the amazing feats of an automatic peeler.
For the past week since they came back from the tailor, his teacher didn't leave the apartment, not even once. He stayed locked in, reading mangas or watching tv all day long. The brand new hero suit was still hanging from the nail on the wall, useless, while the hero himself idled around in his pajamas day and night.
This morning, before leaving for the meeting, he had to convince a sleepy Saitama to undress so Genos could wash the pajamas. They were hanging from the rack on the balcony. He took them down and noticed with a satisfied smile that they were now dry and clean.
"Reconstruction is over, sensei. The Association HQ has been extended and improved."
That drew Saitama's attention. Remote control in his hand, he sat up and leaned on the table to stare at him, eyebrows raised.
"What, already? It's only been a week since the building work began!"
"Metal Knight sent his robots to help." the cyborg explained as he opened the closet he built into the wall to gain more store room. "And Tatsumaki speeded up the pace by moving the heavy loads."
He took the ironing board out and unfolded it in the middle of the living room. Very carefully, he spread the pajamas top on the board. Saitama watched attentively as he activated his palm reactor to use it as an iron, controlling the temperature. He started ironing, smoothing down every last fold of the striped shirt, steam raising from his fingers.
"Moreover, the Association received the financial support of many wealthy patrons who've been very impressed by the alien threat and are now convinced that heroes are useful and important in our society."
"Cool."
"Therefore, the HQ is now a lot more spacious than he was before. We've been taken on a guided tour in the morning. Everyone is going back to work and starting tomorrow the C class heroes will have to go back to their weekly quota, the B class heroes to their monthly quota, and the A class heroes to their trimensual quota."
"Mh."
Saitama didn't seem to listen anymore, he was looking back at the teleshopping with a blank face. It was now about extremely absorbent cloth that could be fixed on the armpit to prevent sweat from staining clothes. Once the pajamas shirt was perfectly smooth and warm, Genos folded it carefully and started ironing the pants. He took extra care to stretch out the elastic to eliminate all the folds.
"Private apartments have been built specially for the S class heroes. They offered me one."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Saitama stopped picking his nose, his finger popping out of his nostril, and stared at him wide-eyed.
"These are luxurious suites strictly reserved for S class heroes, for free. Of course it is forbidden to share with a B class hero. I asked."
Turning off the reactor in his hand, Genos folded the ironed pajamas pants, then walked to his teacher and sat down in seiza by his side.
"Take a look, sensei, I took pictures."
Genos took his phone off his pocket and scrolled through the pictures while Saitama leaned on his shoulder to watch. His bare chest pressed against his metallic arm, radiating human warmth.
"300m2 of surface area, one king-size bed, a gym, a jacuzzi, a dining room, a gaming room, a wardrobe, a living room with a giant screen television, a small private movie theater, a terrace…" Genos enumerated monotonously.
"Seriously?!" Saitama gasped. "All that stuff just for S class heroes? And for free?"
"There are two swimming pools too: one inside, and the other one outside on the roof of the building. And free access to a 4-stars restaurant that provides room service. And a massage service – even though I have no use for that personally."
"That's so unfair!"
Genos kept a straight face when his teacher dropped his forehead on the metallic shoulder, looking utterly dejected. He could see his own reflection on the bald skull like in a mirror.
"I need to become S class at all cost…" Saitama mumbled through his clenched teeth, his forehead still pressed on the metal.
Genos' sensors and artificial nerves transmitted the sensation of the warm breath against his shoulder blade. He couldn't help flinching, his pupils retracting in his golden eyes. Saitama stoop up flexibly and hastily took his hero suit hanging from the nail.
"I gotta find a monster to gank and witnesses to prove I did it so I can be promoted as soon as possible! Where the fuck are the monsters when I need to punch the shit out of them?"
Genos raised his eyebrows and pocketed his phone. Taken aback, he watched his teacher wiggling to slip on the yellow new suit and fasten his white cape. His eyes were sharp and anguished – did he want the S class benefits and a apartment in the HQ so badly?
"Genos…"
The cyborg straightened his back automatically. His teacher had his back on him and was putting on his gloves. The back of his neck radiated a dark tension.
"Yes, Saitama-sensei?"
"When are you leaving?"
Genos blinked, not sure he heard correctly.
"Excuse me?"
"I've got to organize myself. For the rent, the electricity, the water… How long I've got before you move?"
Genos frowned and stood up to face his teacher. Saitama was stubbornly avoiding his eyes, pretending to adjust his belt.
"I'm not going anywhere, sensei."
Saitama stiffened and finally turned his head to stare at him, confused.
"What? But… what about your luxury apartment, then?"
"Like I said, sensei, it's not allowed to share it with a B class hero. So I refused."
And now, Saitama was gawking at him.
"Wait a sec', don't tell me you… you refused a luxury and free apartment with 300m2, jacuzzi, king-size bed and free food… to stay crammed into this dump in a ghost town?"
"Yes."
"But, but… are you fucking stupid!?" Saitama blurted out, looking completely stunned.
"I didn't hesitate and I won't change my mind."
"And what's gonna happen to the apartment?"
"It'll remain vacant. It's reserved to my name and no one but me can live in it."
Saitama facepalmed so hard that the room's air vibrated with the wave of energy.
"Such a waste…"
Genos remained silent for a few seconds as his teacher sighed, shaking his head and looking aghast.
"… I didn't want to leave you alone, sensei." He whispered in a calm and determined voice. "A few months ago, you told me that you felt lonely your whole life. I don't want you to feel that way no more."
Saitama blinked and looked at him like he saw him for the first time. He cleared his throat, and his face hardened with one of his rare and serious expressions.
"Genos… you…"
A familiar humming interrupted him. The sound became louder, and Genos turned his head to see the Association's drone approaching. It glided above the balcony, dropped a box there, and then flew away in the peaceful sky of Z city.
"It must be the mail." Genos stated, his voice wavering with sudden nervosity. "Just like they said, the Association's administration and activities are back to normal."
As Genos picked up the box and emptied it's contents on the table, Saitama came closer and sat down, looking vaguely curious.
"Is there something for me?"
"Didn't you just say you wanted to beat down a monster to get promoted to S class, sensei? You're even wearing your suit. I can wait for you to return and we'll open the mail then."
"Meh, there's no hurry. I don't care that much anyway. Ah, wait, I see my name written there."
Genos saw him reach for a letter and open it. But as he started reading, Genos immediately noticed with his enhanced vision the insults and offensive accusations written on the paper – he didn't give his teacher enough time to read more than a line. His eyes flashed with rage and he immediately raised his hand, the reactor in his palm blasting a white-hot spurt of fire. The letter between Saitama's fingers was instantly reduced to ashes. The hero blinked as the ashes crumbled off his hands, and he looked up, wearing a somewhat disappointed frown.
"Hey… I was still reading that…"
"It didn't deserve to be read, sensei. I'm sure you have in that pile letters from real fans who appreciate what you do for our planet."
Saitama shrugged with no conviction.
"Ok. If you say so."
Genos bit down his lip when he saw in the pile the fake fan letter he wrote himself a few days ago. It would be hard to miss it. It was pink and scented, because doctor Kuseno thought it would look more authentic. His core dully vibrated in his chest as he took it and handed it over to his teacher.
"Here is another letter for you, sensei. This one might be a more grateful one."
"Ah. Thanks."
Genos pretended to focus on his own fan letters. But he wasn't reading them, he was too busy watching his teacher out of the corner of his eye.
"Heh? Perfume…?" Saitama mumbled, puzzled by the pink envelope he was examining.
He opened it carefully and started reading the letter. Genos tensed when Saitama's eyes widened as they ran over the lines. Was it a good sign? Or did Genos make a mistake somehow? Then, Saitama pinched hard the bridge of his nose, an embarrassed blush creeping his face up to the forehead.
"Is this some kind of joke?" He pulled a face, staring at the letter with a dazed look.
"What is, sensei?" Genos asked, hoping his voice sounded normal.
"Maybe it's just to mock me or something." Saitama sighed, dropping the letter on the table so his disciple could see. "First, all those hearts everywhere, then this drawing of me… And « Saitama-sama »? « sama », seriously? In real life, no one uses « sama », that's ridiculous."
"Ah… Some of my fans use it for me…" Genos weakly retaliated, looking down.
"And look at this, she says she's been admiring me for a long time blah blah blah she's a member of my fan-club blah blah blah… I mean, each line is basically a love confession! And what the fuck are those comments about my muscles and my « manly strength »? She says, I quote, that my bald head is « really sexy and attractive ». That's so creepy!"
Deeply embarrassed, Genos looked away and his cooling fans switched on to regulate his overheating core. Maybe using as a model his own fans' letters he archived at Kuseno's wasn't a very good idea after all. All they did was fawning over Genos' superficial appearance, so he tried to do the same for Saitama.
"Aren't you happy to have a fan who loves you that much, sensei?"
Saitama pushed away the letter, and his eyes turned cold and hardened like a razor blade.
"No. 'Cause I don't buy it. I know exactly who wrote that letter, Genos."
The alarmed cyborg's eyes widened and shock made his core whir.
"Sensei…"
Eyes hidden in shadow, Saitama slowly shook his head and smirked viciously.
"I'm not a fool. And now, this is going too far. I won't forgive it."
Shame and panic struck the cyborg hard, making him flinch. Saitama-sensei really looked furious – there was an aura heavy with anger all around him. He was just about to bow to him and beg for his forgiveness, when his teacher looked up aggressively and closed his fist, a vein pulsing on his temple:
"It's that fucking stalker again! He's back!"
Genos blinked, dumbfounded.
"A stalker…? What are you talking about, Saitama-sensei?"
"Oh, right, I haven't told you that story yet."
Saitama narrowed his eyes and leaned on the table towards Genos, looking dead serious:
"A couple months ago, there was a creep stalking me. Just a few days before you came knocking at my door, by the way."
"… Ah."
"I swear it's true!" Saitama articulated with a clenched jaw. "He followed me everywhere for days, 24h/24! When I was taking a bath, sleeping in my bed, grocery shopping or whatever, I felt observed all the time but I never managed to catch him in the act. That asshole even stole one of my french fries!"
"…"
"Don't look at me like that. You don't believe me, don't ya? It's no jokes, Genos. Stalkers are hella dangerous. They can develop some sort of obsessive and wrapped love, just like it happened in a horror movie I watched. Write that in your notebook, you could be a victim too one day. Luckily, I ended up catching the guy and punch him through a wall. He was in fact just a dude I defeated one year ago and he had become creepily obsessed with me since that day. And this letter…"
He pointed an accusing finger at it, looking more and more suspicious by the second.
"… it's got to be him coming back, no doubt here. I shouldn't have let him live. If food comes to disappear, we'll have to track him down and beat the shit out of him once and for all!"
"Yes, sensei…"
Mortified, the cyborg let out some steam and took his notebook to write down this new failure, while his teacher inspected the fridge to make sure nothing disappeared.