Chapter 8 - Older Sisters will always whoop your ass no matter how strong you get; Part 2

Saitama never felt more nervous in his entire life.

After the long and tense ride, Saitama was brought inside a compound that Old man Raiga must have owned. It was a big place that rivaled the size of his own house, but aside from that it was so incredibly different. It was something more of a hotel room with how fancy everything is, and the simple layout of his house cannot compare.

Right now, they were seated in a fancy room, in soft velvet sofas separated with a beautifully carved table. The room screamed luxury and high-class. You would think that the western designs of the furniture would clash heavily to the more traditional design, but it was made in such a way that it looked more like what you'd find in a fancy hotel or something.

Usually, he'll marvel at the place like he did at Tohsaka's house. But even if he wanted to…

There was something in the room that prevented him from doing so.

"…"

Taiga stared at him with her arms crossed, face neutral. He felt himself sweat underneath her gaze.

It had been like this for the past few minutes ever since they arrived in this room.

What even is happening? Am I in trouble?

Saitama racked his brain desperately for any explanation. It had been a question that he constantly asked himself for more than a few times now. In the end, just like all the other times, he can only draw a blank.

Taiga continued staring.

Why is she just staring at me like that? Say something already!

Taiga, the normally complaining about her love life and annoying irresponsible adult Taiga, was quiet. Ever since the moment she told her to get to the car, the entire trip was just her acting like this. It was surreal since this was the first time he ever saw her this way and it definitely unnerved him.

It was like something he thought was fundamental in his life but then it turns out that it wasn't. Taiga, for all the years that she knew her, was energetic and wore her heart on her sleeve, even when she was angry or upset. What he was seeing right now is the complete opposite of that and it made him question reality more than a few times.

At some point, he tried to ask her what was going on but…

Saitama fidgets underneath Taiga's gaze as the limousine drives. "Uh, so can you say why—"

"Shut up, Saitama. I'm thinking."

He closed his mouth and never spoke after that.

…He really didn't want to piss her off more.

Saitama may have prayed for Taiga to stop being so loud all the time once or twice—but if this was what he would get, he'd rather deal with the usual good-for-nothing Taiga! What he's looking at right now is scary!

"I know that look on your face, Saitama. Are you thinking about something stupid?"

"I wasn't." he quickly said.

"..."

Taiga uncrossed her arms, and her face lost all its sternness and she sank deep into the sofa. Saitama blinked as she breathed out a sigh. The look on her face… he'd never seen her so upset.

Suddenly, all traces of nervousness disappeared and was replaced with concern. Saitama straightened in his seat.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried.

Taiga was silent for a moment, then spoke. "Do you want to know why I brought you here, Saitama?"

"Not really." he answered. "…Am I supposed to?"

"Yes!" Taiga yelled as she stood up, startling Saitama. "I know what you've been doing behind my back Saitama! Don't play dumb! I can't believe that I didn't see it, with you going out all night these past few weeks…!"

Taiga slammed her hands on the table between them, and she stared straight at his eyes. "Saitama, tell me—why are you working with a magus!?"

Saitama froze, his eyes turning wide.

S-She knows…?

"Did you get forced, Saitama!? Was that why you got involved!?" she continued to shout. "If you did get forced, why didn't you tell me!? I could've helped you!"

"I-I…" he stuttered.

Taiga stood up again and started pacing back and forth in front of her chair. "That two-faced bitch, involving you in her schemes…! I thought I could trust her, but if this is how she's going to act…" she brought out her phone. "Anyway Saitama, I'm pissed at you for not telling me sooner, but I'll get her out of your hair. I'll send her a message right now."

He shot up in surprise. "T-Taiga, I don't think you need to do that…"

"You'll be staying here for the meantime, Saitama. In case the girl tries anything nasty and goes to attack us, you'll be at least safe here with me and my grandfather's men." she continued as she started fiddling with her phone.

"Taiga." he called out, trying to get her attention.

"I guess you should not go to school for the meantime as well. She's a student there, so it wouldn't be safe. Don't worry, I'll make a good excuse and give it to the faculty. I have some favors here and there that—"

"Taiga!" he shouted.

The woman paused and looked at him.

"Please… please don't call her."

"Saitama…?" Taiga asked him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want you to call her." he told her firmly.

"W-What?"

"Taiga… Tohsaka isn't a bad person. It's not what you're thinking." Saitama sighed. "Because, I wasn't forced at all. I accepted on my own."

Taiga looked at him in shock. "What? B-But… why?"

…He could say many reasons why. Tohsaka did make it clear that joining her would keep targets off his back, since apparently other magi would be interested in dissecting him. Then, there's also the fact that the pay is outstanding. He made a million yen in just a week, and that is enough to make him work for Tohsaka.

But he knew the true reason why he accepted. And why he can never reject an offer to fight more monsters and save other people.

It was because—

A child and a broken man, sitting on the porch under the moonlight.

A casted ideal that was passed down to another.

A promise that was made.

"Because I'm a hero."

…

Taiga rounded on him and grabbed him by the collar, an angry snarl bared on her face.

Her eyes were piercingly sharp and the way she looked at him was like a predator restraining its rage. Any person would be normally intimidated and cowed. However, Saitama didn't flinch or back down but instead met the stare head on.

"Don't mess around Saitama. What the hell do you mean you want to be a hero?" she asked him, voice dangerously low.

He didn't react, only looking straight at her eyes.

For a few moments they only stared down one another.

Taiga's grip on his collar tightened.

"Y-You're serious." she grit her teeth as she said it, her eyes shadowed by her hair. "…Are you seriously telling me that stupid reason was why you got involved into something this dangerous?"

"…"

"No… I remember… you said you wanted to become a hero when you were a kid, didn't you? That's right, all those years ago… where you kept hurting yourself…"

Saitama flinched.

"I can't believe you still didn't give up on it, even now…!"

"…I haven't." he muttered, looking away.

"…This is because of Kiritsugu, isn't it?" Taiga spoke, her body shaking in rage. "It always ended up back to him. Ever since he disappeared, you…"

Saitama was silent.

Then the next moment, a sharp sound echoed throughout the room.

Saitama had his face turned to the side with wide eyes, and the stinging sensation on his cheek made him realize that his face was slapped.

"Are you stupid Saitama? Why do I have to spell it out to you just how dumb your reason is?" Taiga growled. "No one is forcing you to do this. You don't need to put yourself in danger."

"Don't you realize how much you'd be hurting other people—people who love you—because of your actions?"

…

…This time, Saitama doesn't have the strength to meet the eyes of Taiga.

Taiga let go of his collar, then sat back into her chair with a tired sigh.

"I still can't believe all this time you're serious about being a hero… and for you to take it to this extent…" she muttered.

"Live in the reality Saitama. Don't be delusional." she continued. "Magi, like the Tohsaka girl, had spent their entire lives dealing with this sort of stuff. I don't know why she wanted your help, but you're just a normal high school boy." she said, shaking her head.

"Please, don't throw away your life like this."

"I…"

Saitama had a feeling that Taiga was misunderstanding something. She probably didn't know just how stronger he got from his training. He never really showed just how strong he was after all.

Saitama tried to speak, but in the end he closed his mouth.

…But then, even if he was strong, would that really prove that what she said was wrong?

He knew what she was concerned about. There were moments that when he fought, he almost died. It just happened last night even, and if he remembered right, the week before that.

And even though the rush of fighting was something he enjoyed, there was a possibility that he might not come back. A single mistake could cost him his life, and looking back from now, he was pretty lucky to survive some of those fights. Especially when he first started out.

It was always a worry for him. It was the one thing that he fears whenever he fights and finds himself staring at death's door.

Because he knew that by being a hero, he would not be the only one that might suffer if he somehow lost.

In the end, he was presented with a choice.

Will he risk his life to beat monsters despite not needing to, or will he keep himself safe for the sake of his loved ones?

Can he really say to her that he'd rather choose to save strangers than pick them?

But before Saitama could decide, it was interrupted when one of the yakuza came bursting inside the room and called for Taiga. "Boss! There's an emergency!"

Taiga gave the yakuza an irritated look. "What?"

"There's something you need to see outside!"

"Tch. Fine." she turns to Saitama. "I'll check out what's going on. Stay here, Saitama—and think about what you've done."

And so Taiga left the room, leaving him on his own with his thoughts.

…Somehow, he wished he's just battling monsters instead.

A few minutes earlier, when Saitama and Taiga were amidst their argument.

Inside the Yakuza compound that was used as a bunker in case of emergencies, the posted guards were on high alert in defending the mansion and tensions were high.

These men were the part of the Fujimura clan that had the privilege of knowing the supernatural. The clan was already clandestine due to their involvement in the underworld, but even in that clan they were a secret branch. One could say that they were the deepest and darkest part of the underworld due to the amount of secrets that they hold.

They mostly acted as cleaners in the city, dealing with the supernatural on their own or with the help of the magus allied with their boss, Fujimura Taiga, who was responsible for the creation of the secret branch. It was a very dangerous affair as it involved things one would think is from fiction; from monsters to actual wizards that call themselves magi—which is why their branch contains some of the most elite of their clan and the most loyal.

For years they have defended the city from the supernatural. There were setbacks, like how they were recently attacked by cloaked men that stole the body of one of the monsters that they had away from their grasp. But they would recover, like they usually did.

However, it appeared that the magus they thought they had trusted actually made a move on their boss' younger brother.

Men were sent to observe the magus and to check what she was planning to do, or if she was working on her own. The boss had concerns whether the magus was working on her own or not. After all, they had just been attacked by another group of magi a few days ago. The timing was simply suspicious.

In the present, there was no information yet. They just sent the men a few hours ago after all.

Up until now.

Because outside the compound, a yakuza member came running in the gate saying that he had the information, huffing in exhaustion like he just ran a marathon.

"I'm telling you, the boss needs to hear this now!" he shouted to the guards

"Stop. Boss told us to not let anyone enter freely." One of the guards denied his entry.

"Yeah you need to get verified first, just to make sure you're not some imposter or mind controlled you know?" the other guard added.

"Fine, just send someone else to tell her! Because they're coming!" the messenger said desperately. "They're here, the ones who attacked us a few days ago—the ones that stole the body of the monster from us!"

"Yeah, look, just calm down alright? Just wait for us to set the spell up here and—"

"We don't have time! We need to—ggrhkk!"

The two guards blinked in confusion as the messenger froze on his steps.

"I would listen to him if I were you. " an ominous voice called out, making them flinch.

The messenger was limp, as blood pooled on the man's shirt while he gargled out blood. The only thing that lifted him up was the glint of steel impaled through him and protruded out of his chest. The steel that impaled him was a spear that was quite distinct, having a red brush on the end just below the blade. It bore incredible resemblance to the Chinese Qiang spear.

And as for the one holding it… from behind the man a robed figure appeared out of nowhere, as if they were hiding behind the man the whole time. The two guard's eyes widened. After all, they're clothing was something they'd recognize everywhere.

Because they were the same people that had attacked them a few days ago.

"It would be a shame if you all died without at least putting up a fight, no?"

The robed figure raised the impaled body of the man and lifted it up, then flourished the spear to the side, throwing the impaled man far away and into the ground, bleeding out.

The two guards finally got their wits together and years of experience of being hardened criminals kicked in.

"Tell the others!" one of the guards said, and the other did so, going inside the mansion.

The guard who stayed snarled, bringing up his weapon, a shotgun, and pointing it at the robed figure.

There were sounds of gunshots, followed by a scream of pain, then a gurgle.

The next thing that followed was the robed figure walking away the downed and bleeding guard without a scratch on their person. Carrying their spear, they went through the gates that led to the mansion.

It turns out, what was waiting for them was many more guns trained at them.

The guard that warned the others did his job, and just like a well-oiled machine, the other guards had already gone into their positions. Almost a hundred people carrying weapons all in one place, pointing all in one person.

Magi or not, there was a limit on how many bullets anyone could take.

Still, despite the intimidating sight, the robed figure simply took it all in.

"Hmph. It seems I'll have some fun in this errand, after all."

Then the entire world roared.

Hundreds and hundreds of bullets, shot in each second. Even if someone were to be faster than the bullet, the sheer density of the number of bullets heading their way would make it impossible to avoid entirely.

The floor where the robed figure stood and the wall behind them splintered and sent debris everywhere as every guard continued shooting without even stopping for a beat. It continued on, and on, and on, until there was almost nothing left.

Kicked up dust obscured from what was once a beautiful entrance. The world held its breath, and everything was silent.

Then out from the smoke came the robed figure, robe in tatters but otherwise unharmed. They dashed from their position and to the men with guns in front in just a blink of an eye.

Then, came the chaos.

Men were being bodily thrown across the room like they weighed nothing, while some were stabbed and hacked by a continuous gale of sharp steel. Bullets were deflected even as the robed figure was shot again and were treated as nothing, like a fly swatted in the air.

When it was clear that guns didn't do anything, men took up their knives and swords to attack the robed figure. The outcome still remained the same, however, and the guards were simply crushed one-sidedly by the robed figure.

And just when the robed figure was about to finish some of them off, the door going further inside slammed open.

Fujimura Taiga walked out, holding a sword.

"What the hell is going on here!?" she raged. She scanned the entire room, and her eyes settled on the only left standing amidst a sea of bleeding bodies. "You… are you the one that did this!?"

The robed figure turned to her, then scoffed. "So the leader finally arrives. Of all people, it'd have to be a woman."

Taiga looked apoplectic at what they had said. "What the hell did you just say?" she growled.

"Foolish girl. Your little group has simply been a thorn to our operations for so long. You and your men are very annoying at their constant snooping on us." the robed figure arrogantly intoned. "And so, our leader had decided that he had quite enough."

They swept their arm to the side, making their robe flutter in a grandiose display. "Listen closely—for I shall not repeat this twice! You mortals have offended the Ancient Cultivator Sect, and I have been tasked to give a message to your leader to stay out of the way!"

"And that message, the one that would be sent to your grandfather—"

The spear pointed at Taiga.

"—Would be your head."

Woah what year is it… been a long time since I posted anything here in FF. I'm mostly active on QQ. Anyway, here's a short chapter sitting in my files that doesn't make up for the long time I haven't posted, starting a new arc that touches on the previous incident about the Muscle Man's body being stolen. And yes, Chinese Xianxia. I have no idea what the hell I was thinking. I really have to read my notes again if I'm going to continue this…

Moving on, newer chapters might have a different writing style? Can't really compare how different, but I reread this and I kept thinking 'how did I write like this, this is pretty eloquent'. Or maybe it's just the power of a new perspective.

It's good to be back here. As always, leave a review if there are any criticisms. I hope you enjoy the chapter.