Chapter ELEVEN: Tatsumaki's 'Date'

Tatsumaki floated above City R, looking for the Monster that was reported on the news. She was thoroughly bored with the day, having spent the morning just waiting for a Monster to show up.

Her cellphone vibrated. She looked at it, finding a message that the Monster was nearby. She followed the coordinates, finding the Monster, a stupid looking rabbit Monster with green fur, terrorizing a child. She pointed at it to kill it, but stopped when it suddenly exploded into chunks of flesh.

Where the Monster once stood was a bald man in a stupid looking, yellow costume. She recognized the man as none other than Saitama, Hero name: Caped Baldy. She gritted her teeth in annoyance and quickly flew over to him as he handed a napkin to the crying child.

"What're you doing!?" Tatsumaki yelled at him. "That was my prey!"

"Say it, don't spray it," Saitama said, wiping his face with his glove.

"What're you even doing here?" the Esper asked. "I don't have time to give you test if that's what you're looking for!"

"I'm just doing my job," Saitama replied. The child ran off, scared of the arguing adults. "Killing Monsters, saving people."

"You live in City A, why are you here?"

"How'd you know where I live?" Saitama asked, a little creeped out. "Are you a stalker or something?"

"WHAT? No, I'm not a stalker! I know you live there cause you live in the Hero Association apartments!"

"Oh. That makes sense," Saitama said. "Well, anyway, I gotta go."

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?!" Tatsumaki yelled. "Don't think you can run away from me!"

"I'm gonna be late for the movie," Saitama said. He reached into his pocket and dug out a ticket stub. "It starts in seven minutes."

Tatsumaki snatched the ticket from his hand and read it. "'Monsters v. Heroes: Dawn of Heroes'? You're actually going to see that garbage?"

"Why not?" Saitama asked, taking the ticket back. "It looked good in the trailer. You know they made it in less than a month? How crazy is that?"

"Shouldn't you be doing your job? Being a Hero?"

"Doesn't mean I can't watch a movie when there's no Monsters," Saitama told her. He looked at his watch and swore. "Crap! Four minutes! I gotta go! Bye!"

Before she could tell him off, Saitama started running, leaving her in the dust. She gritted her teeth in annoyance, then flew after the bald hero. She wasn't about to let him blow her off like that!

Tatsumaki made it to the movie theatre, only to see the bald hero standing impatiently at the back of a long line. She flew over to him.

"Why are you back here?" she asked. "Why not just cut in line?"

"Cause that would be cutting in line!" Saitama told her. "I don't wanna get in trouble for cutting!" He groaned in annoyance. "Oh, man! I'm not gonna have any time to get some snacks."

Tatsumaki merely looked at him with a dumbfounded look. She smiled, partly in admiration for his willingness to follow the rules everyone had to follow despite his massive strength, but also because she found it hilarious that he refused to do so. He reminded her of Mumen Rider, who was well known for stopping at red lights despite riding a bicycle, having a Hero license, and even in dire situations which called for blowing those lights.

"You wanna see that stupid movie so bad, fine." She floated towards the front of the line. "Just follow me." Saitama, not wanting to miss the movie or the snacks, followed her. She landed on her feet in front of the ticket booth, where a teenage girl stood. "I need a ticket to see 'Monsters v. Heroes: Dawn of Heroes'."

"I'm sorry, but that movie is rated T for Teens. Also, you have to wait on the line."

"I told you!" Saitama yelled.

"I'll have you know I'm 28 years old!" Tatsumaki yelled, floating in place and looking the ticket girl eye to eye. "I'm also a Class S Hero! Rank 2, Tornado of Terror! How do you not know me?!"

"Whoa, that's really her!"

The green haired Esper looked at the long line of movie-goers. She hadn't noticed due to her focusing on Saitama, but most of them were dressed as Class S Heroes, all of the women and girls as her or Fubuki, while some were dressed as Class A, or even Class B. She could clearly see one dressed up as Mumen Rider. They all stared at her with awe, taking pictures and clapping.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Tatsumaki said. She sighed in annoyance. She hated dealing with fans. Especially the men who tried to impress her with their physiques. She turned to looked at the ticket girl, who she now realized was dressed a Fubuki and was squealing with delight, and held out her hand. "Just give me a ticket."

"Yes, Miss Tornado!" the ticket girl yelled happily. She ripped out two tickets and handed one to each of them. "Enjoy the movie! I'm a HUGE FAN, by the way!"

"Sure you are." Tatsumaki floated inside, followed by Saitama.

The two Heroes headed for the snack bar, getting a large popcorn and some sodas and candy. Tatsumaki got herself a candy apple and started eating as they walked to the theatre. Before entering, she stopped.

"What the Hell am I doing?" Tatsumaki asked herself.

"You coming?" Saitama asked, holding the door open.

Tatsumaki sighed in annoyance then shook her head. "I'm here. Might as well."

The two went to their seats, up in the balcony. The ticket girl gave them the best seats in the house.

The two watched the movie, both of them scoffing at the cheesy lines and nonsensical movements. Saitama was at first happy to see he made it into the movie, but was annoyed at having been reduced to a slapstick moron who Shoulder-Blade Crush had to constantly save and berate. Tatsumaki found his misery funny, at least until she saw the actress who portrayed her.

Her actress was clearly much taller than her, which pissed her off, and had a far larger chest, which she also infuriated her. She also made bad puns and stupid poses, clearly trying to show off. The worst part was that the Tatsumaki on the screen kept getting pantie shots, eventually getting reduced to wearing nothing but her bra and panties by the end of the movie, which were torn and falling off, despite the fact most of her clothes were still intact by the end.

But the true worst part was when they had her and King share a romantic moment when he carried away, diligently covering her with his shirt. She thought the lines they spoke and the scenes they shared were odd and now it all made sense. As he carried away, she could swear she heard the Tatsumaki on the screen mutter a weak, 'I love you' to King.

After the movie ended, the two got up to leave.

"Are you King a thing?" Saitama asked curiously. "Or was that-"

"It was just the stupid movie!" Tatsumaki yelled, floating up to his face to yell directly in his face. "AH! That movie was so DUMB! I don't make stupid puns and wink at my enemies! Who does that?!"

"I've seen Heroes do that before," Saitama told her. "Though, they tend to get beaten up a second later. They get too full of themselves."

"The weak ones always do," Tatsumaki agreed, floating back down.

"You wanna grab something to eat?" Saitama asked. "There's a diner I usually meet King at nearby. It's pretty good."

"Wait, you meet with King? Casually?"

"Yeah, all the time. We hang out, play some games. He destroyed a mountain last time, kicked my ass good; like he always does. He does NOT show any mercy."

Tatsumaki's eyes widened. They met with each other outside of Hero duties? Like friends? More than that, they were sparring partners? KING destroyed Asahi Mountain last week? She thought back to her bout with Saitama a couple weeks before, the way he shrugged off all her attacks, no matter how brutal. If he was sparring with King, then it made sense he would so powerful. And if King could kick his ass so easily...

She would have to triple-down on her training. Quadruple down, even.

"I'm gonna pass," Tatsumaki said. "I gotta head home and cook dinnner for Fubuki. Last time she cooked something, she nearly set our place on fire."

"Yeah, she seems like the type who doesn't know how to cook," Saitama said. "Well, see you later then."

"See ya." Tatsumaki floated off, back to her home.

The next morning, Tatsumaki was sleeping on her bed, snoring lightly. It was almost ten, but she decided to sleep in for the day. She was dreaming about time she fought Saitama. She'd just beaten him down, making him grovel and beg for her forgiveness for annoying, when she heard someone shouting.

"SISTER!" Tatsumaki shot up out of bed, looking around in a panic. She looked at her door, finding her sister running at her, holding a newspaper. She shoved it in her face to show of the headline. "WHY DIDN'T TELL ME?!"

"Tell you what?!" Tatsumaki asked, annoyed at having been woken up. She psychically moved Fubuki away from her and to the foot of her bed, rubbing her eyes as she did so "I was having a good dream."

"You and Saitama!" Fubuki screeched, holding out the paper. "Why didn't you tell me you two were DATING?!"

Tatsumaki froze. She squinted her eyes at the paper, using her psychic power to get rid of the initial blurriness that naturally came with waking up. On the front page were three pictures of her and the baldy, one of them on the balcony, where the hands touched by accident, and a second and third of them entering and leaving the movie theatre. Her eyes twitched as she read the words on the paper.

BREAKING NEWS!

Class S, Rank 2 Hero Tornado of Terror, has found romance in the workplace! Yesterday afternoon, she was spotted at the movies with an unknown man, now identified as a fellow Hero, Class A, Rank 39 Caped Baldy.

The couple sat atop the balcony area of the movie theatre for the premiere of the new movie 'Monster v. Heroes: Dawn of Heroes'. After the movie, movie-goers overheard the couple planning to go a diner for a romantic dinner. Unfortunately, we lost sight of them afterward.

'I never knew Tatsumaki had it in her,' said one movie-goer. 'She always seemed so scary! I guess love sprouts for everybody!'

Tatsumaki slowly lied back down on her bed, took a pillow, and covered her face with it. She screamed in frustration, the pillow doing very little to muffle the sound.

Elsewhere, Saitama was hanging out with King, playing the new game version of 'Heroes v. Monsters: Dawn of Justice' King was given. All Class S Heroes were given free copies, but only King accepted it. King played as Caped Baldy, the weakest character, while Saitama played as King, the strongest, who only needed one hit to win any match.

"MASTER!" Genos came running into the room, holding a newspaper. Saitama looked at him, not caring about the fact that King was destroying him, since he already knew he would win. "WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME YOU AND TORNADO ARE IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP!?"

"What?" Saitama asked.