Disclaimer: I do not own One Punch Man or any of the characters associated with the title. All rights belong to their respective owners.

Tatsumaki stared at the screen with an intense focus on her usually irritated visage. Still, three days after her roadblock of asking Bang, she was at a loss for who this mysterious man is. Her conversation with the old fart wasn't completely useless, however. It simply raised far more questions than it answered. The big question right now was, could this really be Blast? His uniform wasn't the same, he was far slimmer, and his voice isn't as deep. Those all threw a wrench into that possibility, but... his words, and his motives (according to Bang) were so... similar. Far too similar to be a coincidence.

Then again, with as big of a hero as Blast was, there wasn't a person alive who didn't know how he operated. Every loser on every internet forum who had nothing better to do could spout off the fact that Blast only did hero work as a hobby. It was pretty much public knowledge. That being said, this could just be a copycat. Someone who acknowledged Blast to an extreme degree then inexplicably acquired powers. There were so many possibilities and none made more sense than the first.

Another question that arose for her was that, if this is Blast, then what would be the point of HQ lying about his death? It didn't seem to make too much sense. If he's alive and well and still doing his whole wait-till-the-last-minute/it's-just-a-hobby deal, then there'd be no reason to proclaim he's dead. None of it made sense to her, but she was determined to find out. Whether she had to do it herself, or not.

Despite her incessant search for this unknown, she still had to be vigilant about the happenings of the cities. She is the unofficial top hero still. The monitor next to the one she was examining had the news on, displaying the latest in Hero Watch news. Nothing of major importance it seemed. A slight increase in monster activities (nothing above Tiger level), news on those who've recovered successfully from the invasion, and some new villain warning. A man calling himself the 'Hero Hunter' who apparently took down Tanktop Master. For anyone else it'd be fairly big news, but (in Tatsumaki's opinion) he wasn't worth an S-Class ranking in the first place. All in all, nothing of great importance.

Looking back to the screen before her, she stared at his yellow jumpsuit with a sigh. "... Who are you?"

Saitama sat lazily on his couch, watching some kind of infomercial that was trying to sell what looked like a dog grooming glove. He had just gotten off of his morning shift and was waiting for Genos to finish his lunch. Had to eat something before his afternoon shift kicked in. With all the free time from no longer being a hero, he was just trying to fill his day doing something productive. With a yawn, he wiped the sleepiness from his eyes and continued doing what he's done a lot these days. A whole lot of nothing. In honesty, he wasn't sure what all he was expecting from trading in hero work for his normal job. He had thought it'd be less disappointing since he was aware his daily routine would be boring, but it was actually just the same.

What was strange was that it seemed like he was running into way more monsters these days. More than he did when he was actively searching them out to make his weekly quota for C-Class. It was probably just a coincidence, but it always seemed to happen when he was walking to and from work with King. 'Maybe he really is a magnet for trouble...'

Saitama really didn't mind, though. The monsters weren't all that troubling. Not that he'd know if they were or not. He found hanging out with King to be rather fun if he had to put it simply. It was more entertaining. It gave him something to strive for again. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to beat him in any video game they played. It was frustrating, a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time. That bitterness of loss, the rush he feels when he's got King's health bar on the brink of dissipating, the... disappointment when the bastard somehow comes back without taking a single hit... Regardless, it was a way to pass the time.

Why had he followed King that day? That was a question the man himself asked him. Saitama couldn't really explain it at the time... mainly because he just didn't care to, but it likely had something to do with King being another hero who left the organization. Their circumstances were obviously different, but there was some similarity there. Enough to catch Saitama's attention at the least.

Thinking back to who he used to be before his training, he somewhat understood. Times were tough all around in the world of regular everyday business. If by chance he were mistaken for completing a task that earned him enough money to pay rent, perhaps he would have accepted the accolades as well. So, that's why he didn't hold that same grudge over the disgraceful S-Class phony that everyone else did. He understood the situation. Plus, King admitted to likely claiming more than a few of his monster takedowns and apologized. So, what was there to be mad about?

(knock, knock, knock)

Speak of the devil, King walked in, holding his hand-held gaming device and a new videogame case. "Saitama, I found the original disk. I can loan it to you if you'd like."

"Uh, sure... Just put it on the table," he mumbled, still mindlessly watching the infomercial.

King did as instructed and made his way over to the couch. "What's for lunch?" he asked, plopping down on the other side.

"Tonkatsu..."

"Ah... I'd love to join."

"Ask Genos." Their conversation was handled in a very monotonous exchange.

"Genos, may I join you for lunch?" King asked again.

"If Master Saitama allows it," the cyborg said.

"He left it up to you," he said to Saitama.

"Okay..."

"Is that a yes? Or are you acknowledging that Genos has left the decision up to you?"

"It's a yes."

"Thanks..."

The room fell into a comfortable silence. King had his nose in his game, Saitama was reading a manga, and Genos was adding the finishing touches to the recipe he found online. It was quiet, but not unwelcomed.

As Genos stirred the noodles in the pot, he suddenly stopped when his sensors picked up on something. 'Uh! A high-speed object is approaching. Humans can't move that fast. It must be a monster...' He peeked back to see Saitama lazily reading his manga, scratching the inside of his nose as needed. '... I should not involve Master in this. I will handle it myself. This gives me a chance to test out my new upgrades.'

Without a word, he removed the pot from the burner and stepped outside.

"... Where'd Genos go?" King asked.

"Don't know," Saitama sluggishly replied.

"... Is it ready?"

"Don't know..."

"Show yourself," Genos demanded, staring down the narrow walkway. After a moment of hesitation, an oddly dressed man dropped down before him in a crouch. 'Human...?' He sure didn't look like a monster. "... What do you want?"

The man stood to his feet and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword as he began walking toward him. "... Tell Saitama to get out here... I gained information that says he lives here."

"Are you an acquaintance of Master Saitama's?" Genos questioned, unrelenting in his security efforts.

"Hey... I've run into you before," the man muttered, coming to a stop. "... I'm Speed-O'-Sound Sonic, Saitama's rival. I've come here today to settle the score. If you understand, then step aside. I have no business with you..."

"... Speed-O'-Sound Sonic? So, it's you, you pervert. You dare claim to be Master Saitama's rival? Pathetic. Take one more step and you will be eliminated." Genos raised his palm to show his blasters heating up with an ominous screech.

A sick grin of excitement suddenly snapped onto Sonic's face. "Heh!" He pulled a handful of high-tech shuriken from his equipment pouch and held them up by his face. "You're the one who will be eliminated, sidekick!"

(knock, knock, knock)

"Could you get that?" Saitama asked, flipping the page of his manga.

King, still looking down at his game, replied in his usual tone of indifference. "It's your house. You should get it."

"You're closer."

"But, it's your house."

"We're feeding you..."

"Okay." King stood to his feet and made his way to the door while still maintaining his focus on whatever he was playing.

(knock, knock-...)

He opened the door before the third knock. "Yes...?" When he didn't get a response, he figured it was some sort of prank and kicked the door shut behind him.

(knock-knock)

With a sigh, he turned back around and answered again. This time, he decided to see who it was. "Ye-..." King froze when he caught the icy gaze of a hero he knew all too well. They had never met officially, but he's heard stories about her less-than-reputable actions among the Hero Associations' lower classes. "... uh..." Quickly, his eyes flickered to the two men on either side of her and in the small glimpses he got, he recognized them immediately as the men from the other day. Slowly, as to not warrant any sudden movements, he closed the door and started walking back, feeling around with his left hand.

"s-... sai-... sait-a..." He couldn't even manage to stutter out his words enough to get the bald man's attention. "sai-.. t-... sai-... tama..."

"... Hm?" Saitama turned in his seat and watched him creeping back toward him. "What is it? Is it a package...?"

Fubuki stood on the other side of the door with a satisfied smirk. Seeing King's shock and terror was something she had never really dreamt of before. It didn't mean as much now, of course, with him turning out to be a fraud and all, but even so. The level of fear she was able to instill in civilians was always something she found pleasing. Obviously, they would never hurt anyone that didn't deserve it, but it let her know that the Hell Blizzard's organization wasn't just a joke to people.

(knock, knock-..)

Again someone answered before the third knock. "Yes...?"

Immediately, Fubuki's eyes were drawn to the most striking feature she saw... his damn near reflectively bald scalp. 'Whoa... How unfortunate...'

"t-That's him boss," Mountain Ape yelled, pointing him out like a child tattle-telling on the playground.

"Yeah, that's the guy!" Eyelashes backed him up. "I don't know what his deal is, but he definitely caught us off guard last time!"

Saitama's eyes shifted between the two men with a raised eyebrow. "... Hm? Do I know you?"

"Oh, don't play dumb now that you're in the presence of a TRUE hero! Unlike that spineless fool, King, Miss Fubuki is the real deal!" Mountain Ape roared out as if it were going to intimidate him.

"... Who?"

"Tch! Why you-!" Eyelashes was seething, but he was stopped by the slender hand of his boss raising up in the air.

"It's okay, you two. Let him play this little game of his all he wants. As a matter of fact, we can play along," she said in a chilling tone. "See, I... am the B-Class rank 1 hero, Hellish Blizzard. I am also the leader of the Hellish Blizzard organization and these two are my right-hand men..."

"... No, I've seriously never heard of you," he said with an almost apologetic tone, shrugging his shoulders.

That definitely ticked her off a bit, but she maintained her cool. "Heh... Well, you don't have to know who we are, I suppose... We'll make sure you never forget us. Boys?"

"Hergh!" Mountain ape growled out, readying himself to charge. "You won't be getting the drop on us this time!"

"Yeah!" the smaller guy backed him up. "Let's show him what Miss Fubuki's top men can do!"

The two charged him with war cries and pure determination. A determination that carried them blindly into the danger zone... Again, before they even knew what had happened, they were sent flying with a single punch, yelling out in fear of the fall.

"Ah!" Fubuki exclaimed, taking a step back in shock.

"What the hell was their problem? You can't just knock on someone's door and attack them," he explained.

"w-What was that!? What did you do!?" she demanded with an angry scowl, her eyes narrowed with a daring glint as the energy around her starting swirling.

"... Hm?" Saitama watched as she slipped the expensive-looking fur wrap off her shoulders. "It was just a punch... Not even a full punch, really. Though, against guys like that... Whoa," he blandly exclaimed with a hint of amazement when her feet left the ground. "You can fly... That's pretty cool..." He didn't notice the wind until a stray newspaper flew by and smacked him in the face.

"... A punch, huh?" Fubuki muttered with a menacing grovel in her voice. 'He's trying to make a fool of the Blizzard group! He doesn't respect us...! I will make him respect us...! This stupid baldy will beg for forgiveness for disrespecting my top men!' She flew further away, watching as he looked around at all the debris flying around. "I will show you not to trifle with the likes of the Blizzard Organization!"

Saitama's lazy eyes searched around the swirling chaos. "Uh... are you just gonna throw rocks around?" he asked, slowing her rising frustration. "Because that's kinda lame... I mean, you don't even need telekinesis to do that."

She stared at him in disbelief. It was like he was purposely trying to piss her off... and it was working. "... You... You son-of-a-!"

"Hold on," Saitama cut her off. He stepped out of his room completely and shut the door. "... Okay."

Now she was pissed...

"Urrrggghhh! Who are you!?" Tatsumaki whined, watching the footage of the attack again. More importantly, the moment he saved her. She was in view as Boros prepared to drive that spike through her skull. Literally, seconds away from death before she was saved. She had spent the day watching those few moments over and over again. Every time the yellow-clad hero stood to face the enemy, she spun it back and watched it again. She had never cared enough to go any further than that. From what Child Emperor said, there wasn't much to it. Just the usual villainous monologuing and sounds of the battle. That wouldn't get her anywhere.

Then again, nothing was getting her anywhere. She had been at it for nearly two weeks now with no progress. No worthy monsters around to relieve her stress and no productivity had made her consider giving up this hunt for a ghost. Perhaps it truly is Blast and he just doesn't want to be involved with the Hero Association anymore. Maybe it's not him at all. The important thing is, whoever it is has stepped in twice when the world needed them. So... even if she doesn't find him... it's not like they're gone for good.

With a deep inhale and exhale, she slumped down in her seat, her legs stretched out completely and her arms raised up on the armrests. Truly, she looked like a bored child. Her irritated gaze stared up at the screen just as the yellow-suited man shot passed Boros, snatching her and saving her life. With little care to restart it anymore, she let the remote slip from her hand and heard it clatter on the floor.

Her frustrated gaze shifted over to the monitor displaying the news. To her relief, oddly enough, there was a rather sizable monster in City X. Perfect. She could really use the stress relief right now. She started flying out of the room before a voice on the monitor caught her attention.

('m.. aster...')

It was almost too quiet for her to hear, and it raised more questions than it answered... Like, who else was up there...? She took that train of thought with her as she blasted off around the corner. Maybe blowing off steam would clear some things up.

Fubuki's wide-set eyes were locked on the unbelievable display of speed being shown by this unknown assassin who was moving so fast that ten of his afterimages seemed to be attacking all at once, encroaching on the casually dressed bald man she had just tried to humiliate. A blast from none other than S-Class Rank 12 member, Demon Cyborg, however, ended their little battle. She couldn't believe what she was seeing... hell, she couldn't believe what she just heard. An S-Class hero calling some regular-looking civilian 'master...?'

'... What the hell is happening here!?' It didn't seem like it was gonna matter anymore though. This assassin was clearly out for blood. 'With a technique like that, there's no way he's gonna survive... m-Maybe I should step in. I am a hero after all. I can't let this villain kill a civil-..'

"Serious series... Serious sideways jumps."

"... HUUUUH!?" Fubuki exclaimed in awe.

Saitama started hopping side to side at such an incredible speed that more than twenty of his afterimages could be seen, looking as solid as possible. Fubuki couldn't even spot the real him.

"g-.. Gah!" Speed o' sound Sonic was blasted away by the sheer force of the maneuver and fell to the ground, out cold.

Saitama stopped his hopping and looked over at the downed assassin. "oh-.. Sorry, Sonic. I didn't mean to knock you out. I guess I was going faster than I thought..."

"Master, it would seem the force of your movements was enough to cause a shockwave. In his fall, he has caught the brunt of it." Genos deduced.

Saitama stared at him for a moment. "... Oh... He should be okay, then... Come on, I'm hungry."

With a look of pure shock, Fubuki watched the two plod away as if nothing happened. Her astonished eyes traveled over to the downed man for a moment before she called out to them. "w-.. Wait!"

"... Oh," King said with a plain gaze plastered on the TV. "You almost had me that time."

Saitama sat next to him, looking far more irritated than he's been since... well, the last few games. With a deep breath, he sighed and visibly calmed himself. "... One more," he demanded.

"Nah, I don't think we've got time," King reasoned. "We'll be late for our afternoon shift."

"One more."

"You'll lose your perfect attendance which will disqualify you from receiving overtime."

The two began a childish back and forth in a casual manner that absolutely baffled the B-Class Rank 1 hero as she sat at the dining room table, an entire meal still in front of her. She then peeked back over to the Cyborg who was... washing dishes...

'... S-Class rank-12... Demon Cyborg... is washing dishes...' She couldn't comprehend any of this. It was all so... baffling...

"Master Saitama, I have retrieved your work clothes from the washer. They have been ironed and pressed," Genos said sternly with a bow that the bald man didn't even acknowledge.

"o-Oh. Uh... thanks, Genos... I already told you, though. You don't have to do that every day."

Genos stood to his feet. "It is a pleasure for me to serve you in any way I can, Master Saitama. Doing this work is simply expected."

"Um... okay?" Saitama muttered with an uncertain inflection in his tone. "Thanks... good job."

Immediately, Genos looked shocked by his words until a smile of appreciation seeped into his expression. 'Master Saitama...!'

'I don't understand!' Fubuki mentally yelled.

Tatsumaki huffed out a lazy, irritated, sigh, looking at the balled-up remains of the monster she just defeated. "And here I thought you were gonna be a little fun," she muttered. "... Stupid excuse for a demon-level threat..." As she flew away she thought more about the video again. More specifically, she thought about what she herself could remember. It was fuzzy, but she could vaguely picture the image of him standing in front of that big 'world-destroying blast'.

She wanted to believe it...

She desperately wanted to believe it was Blast, but there were just too many things that disputed that theory. Mainly, the physique. Whoever this is, they're obviously strong. Strong enough to punch an energy blast of that magnitude hard enough to completely dwarf it. Hard enough to split the clouds for miles (a little fact that she learned just recently). But, his physique was not as bulky as Blast's. Blast himself wasn't necessarily on the level of the Tanktop army or anything, but he was definitely more defined. More so like... Puri-puri Prisoner... or maybe a bit smaller.

There was also the power. Blast didn't just go around punching things. He was called blast for a reason. Raw strength was not the base of his abilities. Not that he wasn't strong, but there was a specific something that augmented his strength. Something that manifested in a physical way that she just didn't see. Of course, with that light in the way, it wasn't hard to assume that she just couldn't see it. Her vision was limited as it was.

Even if she could just believe all of that and link it to Blast, his voice didn't match. That she knew for sure. His words have been playing through her mind for years now, telling her not to rely on others, saying things she wished he would say... the voice of that man was unmistakable to her. It was this new voice that threw her for a loop. It was so... familiar... So familiar, yet it still felt like the voice of a stranger... Like, hearing someone you've only met once after a long time... She was usually talking down to the lower-class heroes, perhaps one of them actually spoke up to her as she was leaving or something...?

(bzzz bzzz bzzzzzzzz)

She stopped flying, looking down at her phone. ([Monster Alert: City Y])

If anything, she knew that if she heard it again, she would definitely recognize it...

(Bum-bum-bum-bum-bu-dum-bum)

The King Engine roared as King staring at the partial remains of the monster in front of him. He was covered from head to toe in the green blood of this beast that just suddenly appeared, clearing the street around them. Now, it was only himself and Saitama who – despite being the one to actually defeat the creature – was completely clean! The bald man looked at his petrified friend as the rest of the monster (consisting of everything below it's stomach) fell over like an empty sack.

"Oh... Sorry, King. You should probably take this shift off. I am sure the manager will understand when I tell him what happened," he offered, scratching the side of his face with an embarrassed look. "... Uh... If Genos is still there, just tell him to give you some quarters and you can use our machine... Sorry, again. I'm heading on."

King watched him march away with a ridiculously goofy stride that was almost childlike. He, again, was left absolutely amazed by the ease with which Saitama could defeat such an imposing creature. 'Saitama... what are you...!?'

Eventually, he found the strength to slump back to Saitama's apartment. He'd get his clothes washed then he'd head into work, god-forbid he run into anything else.

Tatsumaki came floating down, overlooking the aftermath of what looked like one hell of a one-sided battle. It was nothing but scattered guts and blood covering building after building... and yet, oddly enough, one clear spot. A spot nestled in the muck and grime in a way that she could tell someone had been standing there when this creature was blown to bits. More importantly, there were footsteps that pointed her in the direction this individual went.

'It is already defeated...?' The voice on her phone questioned.

"That's what I just said. Are you deaf?" she snapped back.

'n-.. No ma'am. I apologize. I just did not expect you to handle it so swiftly. It was reported as a definite demon, potential dragon level thre-..'

"It wasn't me," she quickly cut him off.

'o-.. Oh, I see... Well, then we will wait for someone to claim it. I apologize for calling you so hastily.'

"... Whatever," she said with a thoughtful look. "... I'm going offline for the day. Don't bug me with things that are not worth my time." Without giving him time to reply, she hung the phone up, looking at the footsteps on the ground. '... A potential dragon...'

Figuring she had nothing better to do, she went ahead and followed the trail as far as she could before it faded out. That wasn't until a little way into City-Z. A city she knew to be abandoned aside from Bang's dojo. 'Hmph... Must've been the old man on his way back from the store,' she figured. As far as she knew, he was the only capable hero still residing in City-Z. Just before she turned to leave, a glint of reflective light caught her attention in the distance.

"... Is that... Demon Cyborg?" she muttered. "What the hell's he doing way out here...?" She was about to fly over to him to question him, but she stopped when something came to mind unexpectedly... That audio she heard just before she left the conference room... what was it saying...?

'Urgh, forget it. It'll come to me later.' She continued on, flying toward him before she was damn near floored by what she saw...

Genos came walking up the steps, heading back to the apartment. "I apologize. I have not yet finished ironing the rest of Master Saitama's clothing yet. This was the only option."

King looked down at the yellow jumpsuit with a slight smile. He'd be surprised by it if he didn't already know it was Saitama who saved the world from that invasion. After witnessing what he has, it wasn't hard to believe... Still, he never thought he'd get to see the actual suit, let alone wear it. He didn't have the gloves, belt, or cape on, and it was a little tight on him, but it was unmistakable. This was the suit he wore when he defeated that Lord Boros guy... Wearing it made him feel kind of strong. "... Heh," he chuckled.

"KING!" A voice yelled out, catching their attention.

"h-..Huh!?" he jumped in terror, not even knowing who it was yet. It didn't take long for that King engine to kick up a new beat when he saw the older sister of the Esper who sought him out earlier. "Oh... COME ON!"