AN: Welcome back! So sorry for lying about when I'd be posting this chapter. I guess I got cold feet about posting this one in particular until I knew what came next. That being said, I've got a slight announcement regarding a brief delay after this chapter.
When I came back to this story, I really didn't have too good of an idea of where I wanted to take it. It's been a real figure-it-out-as-you-go type of deal, but as we get closer to the end, I really want it round off as a complete and solid narrative, and I've got a bit of an idea brewing regarding an aspect of the romance that I haven't really seen done before. No spoilers, but if you are here for the romance, I'm sure you'll like where it ends up. But I've also got a pretty wild idea regarding the action plot as well. So, if you're here for that, I'm sure you'll like what's to come.
That being said, I'm gonna be taking a very brief hiatus just to script the rest of the story out the way I would if I were writing from scratch, and hopefully when I come back, I'll be able to post with a lot more consistency. I don't have much more to say than that. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Punch Man or any of the characters associated with the title. All rights belong to their respective owners.
(Boof..! Boof-boof!)
Tanktop Master held one of the beasts in a headlock as his eyes followed the pink-haired woman who saved him. He watched her maneuver down the road with astounding flexibility and grace, dispatching the creatures with minimal struggle. She was like an angel on a battlefield, and like many others, he was completely enchanted...
"rgh-!... rrRAGH!" the beast in his arms struggled.
Without even looking, he snapped its neck and let it drop to the ground with a heavy thud. 'This must be the woman my crew told me about... The woman Sitch mentioned at the meeting the other night,' he realized. '... What's she doing here...?'
'Tanktop,' Flashy Flash's cool tone spoke over their communication line. 'Any sign of the main creature?'
"n-... No, I... I'm still searching," he managed.
(Whoosh!)
Metal Bat suddenly jumped by him, startling him awake. "Then, get a damn move on! Stop standin' around!"
The teen continued down the road, blasting the heads off of the cluttering beasts with every swing. Then, he rounded the corner and caught sight of that woman himself. She was definitely a lot more capable than he initially thought. He watched her use that shawl of hers with expert precision. She used it to bind, trip, and all around hinder the movement of the creatures with ease so she could get in close and blow their heads off with a touch of her hand. He still just couldn't understand what the hell she was doing here.
(THUD!)
The teen slid to a halt just before one of the massive bodies dropped down and crashed into the road right in front of him without its head. His gaze shot up to the building above to see Flashy Flash hacking and slashing his way through a thick clutter. "Hey! Watch where you drop those things, you jackass!"
"Hmph," the swordsman sneered. He continued to clear the top of the building while vigilantly searching for the beast with his other sword in its head. When he got a chance, he snuck a glance down to their unexpected ally below, and he had to admit, she was quite an elegant woman. There were no wasted movements in her style of attack. She was quick and precise, just as it should be.
(FSHH!)
With a blast that traveled inches away from Flashy Flashes face, Genos split the head of a creature that nearly snuck up on him. The swordsman obviously showed him no gratitude. "Do that again, and I'll shut you down, cyborg."
Genos didn't respond. He continued flying low through the wartorn city, scanning every creature in his line of sight. He spotted Love leaping up to a nearby roof. She gave him a quick glance as she jumped across to another building, laser-focused on her task.
"Demon Cyborg!" Pig God suddenly shouted.
"Uh-!" Genos gasped when he turned around to see one of the creatures right in his face. He managed to avoid the snap of its jaw and blasted a hole through its torso.
Down below, Pig God watched him shrug the beast off, letting it drop right on him. He opened wide and swallowed it whole in one bite.
(CRASH!)
Suddenly, Love fell into the side of a nearby building, hard enough to indent her body within the cement. "ergh-!"
"RAAAARRRGGGHHH!"
(CRASH!)
She jumped away just before a monster smashed through the wall in its relentless pursuit.
Pig God watched her scale her way up to another rooftop with the grace of a trained dancer. "... Whoa... Uh... Anyone else seeing the stranger, right now?" he asked through his earpiece.
'Yeah,' Tanktop Master responded. 'She's... quite good...'
'Suspiciously good,' Flashy Flash tagged on. 'As in, why is she here?'
'She is the same woman from the attacks two days ago,' Genos pointed out.
Pig God snatched a passing beast and tossed it in his mouth.
'Yeah, no shit,' Metal Bat chimed in. 'But why the hell would they send her out to help us?'
"Who sh-aid anyone sh-ent her?" Pig God asked with a mouthful. "She could ju-sh be a good Sh-amaritan."
'She told me herself,' the teen replied. 'Then she said she's not technically in the organization or some shit.'
'So, they're just sending civilians out on missions, now,' Flashy Flash stated with an unimpressed tone. 'Hn... Seems awfully suspicious, if you ask me...'
'Maybe,' Tanktop Master's booming voice cut in, 'but you can't deny her effectiveness. She's been a great help here, today.'
Pig God stared at the drizzling flower petals swishing through the air as if it were the first sight of snow. If nothing else, she definitely left a beautiful mark on the battlefield...
(WOOSH!)
With a rush, Tatsumaki swooped through the street, right by him, and continued out to the perimeter, begrudgingly listening to them praise that nobody for doing the bare minimum. "... sh-... She's not that good," she finally threw her two cents in with a pout. "I mean... it's not like we even needed her help, anyways."
'Yeah,' Metal Bat said. '... Hey, maybe they're planning on diversifying the S-Class a little more.'
Tatsumaki's expression sank into a look of annoyance as if she could see the obnoxious look on his face when he said that.
'Heh, wouldn't it be nice to not be the only female voice in the room, Tornado?'
"Pfft! Heh, yeah right!" she exclaimed in a mocking tone. "You're dreaming if you think that's good enough to make S-Class! As if!"
'She's actually pretty good,' Tanktop Master restated, much to Tatsumaki's chagrin. 'I'm not saying that she is worthy of our status, but I wouldn't be so quick to assume she's not.'
'Heh,' Metal Bat chuckled. 'You ask me, I think Tornado might just be a little worried she'll steal some of her thunder. I mean... she is pretty hot.'
Tatsumaki's brow twitched at the sound of his voice.
'Yeah,' Pig God agreed.
'er-! m-Metal Bat,' Tanktop Master nervously sputtered. 'You shouldn't speak so freely on a mission.'
'Heh,' Metal Bat chuckled again. 'Hey, I'm just sayin'. That's a pretty rare combination, don'tcha think? Strong and beautiful? We could definitely use some of that in the S-Class...'
He was obviously poking the bear a bit, especially after he now had suspicions about their top two heroes, and judging by the spike in the speed of the wind, he definitely got the reaction he was looking for.
Tatsumaki stopped her frivolous route of swooping around the area. She hovered over the battlefield with a crazed look in her eyes. 'Heh-heh... Okay...' Her power was visibly increasing by the second. 'These idiots think she's so amazing!?' The wind was gradually picking up around the entire battle zone, and the flower petals from Love's kills were swept up in the rush along with other loose trash and debris. 'I'll show them!'
Love was oblivious to the drama that her arrival stirred up. She was zoned in on just defeating as many monsters as she possibly could. For some reason, it really felt like she had caught a second wind after that run-in with Saitama. Truth be told, she had been frantically searching for him since she got there. Though he was likely the brightest hero on the scene at any given moment with his color pattern, he was surprisingly hard to find.
"... Uh-!" she gasped and slid to a halt on the edge of a rooftop when she noticed the wall of her flowers slowly starting to build up around the area. '...w-... What is that...?'
The wind started moving sporadically, seemingly in every direction at once. The monsters on the street hunkered down, digging their claws into the cement, like anchor points. And not too soon after, Love had to grip the ledge to hold herself steady. '... n-No way...!' Her flowers were rushing around the zone so fast that it eventually started to look like a wall of pink. "It's... It's a-... Uh-!" Her eyes landed on the floating woman in the sky. '... Tornado...!'
Love watched her glide by, oozing a presence of sheer authority. Her expression was commanding and graceful as if she were barely even trying. Then, her eyes looked down on her from above...
Tatsumaki spotted her immediately. She furrowed her brow at the confusing look of awe on her face. It was a look she often saw from her fans, so it really shouldn't have caught her attention, but it just felt wrong coming from her, for some reason. 'Hmph...! I'll show you what amazing really looks like...! I'll show you why you can never be one of us!'
Love could feel her grip starting to slip. The pressure of the wind trying to throw her in every direction was immense, and she was starting to have a tough time even breathing. Still, she looked up at the woman above with nothing short of admiration in her bright brown eyes. 'w-... Whoa! sh-She's...! She's so beautiful! a-And this power is... crazy!'
"Miss!"
A deep burly voice cut through the roar of the storm, making her flinch. When she turned as much as she could without relinquishing her grip, she saw that it was Tanktop Master holding a hand out for her to grab.
"It's not safe here! Tornado is taking over! Please, allow me to escort you to safety!"
'w-What...?' Her gaze shifted back to the woman in the sky. 'She's... she's taking over...?'
"We have to go!" he shouted when he saw her look away.
Love was beside herself. On one hand, the storm was an insane display of power, but she could see the monsters were slowly starting to acclimate to the shifted environment. Were they really just planning on leaving the rest to her?
(Wooosh! SLASH!)
Suddenly, Flashy Flash sliced the head off a creature that nearly snuck up on her. It was so loud that she didn't even hear it. She watched as the blond man stabbed his blade into the roof to hold himself steady. She was almost mesmerized by his beautifully flowing golden hair.
He held a strand out of his face and looked down at her with a cool sneer. "You can't help her!" he shouted as if he knew what she was thinking. "At this point, if you stay, you'll only be putting yourself in danger!"
"... b-But-...!" She looked to Tatsumaki again with an uncertain frown. "... She's all alone..."
Before they had any more time to argue about it, they were all engulfed by a green sphere. Love gasped and held her breath when she suddenly found herself locking eyes with the Tornado of Terror. The moment was brief, but it felt like it went on forever... and somehow, even through the roar of the wind and the chitters of the beasts below, she heard her voice.
"... You're in the way..."
(wwwwwoooooOOOOOSSSSHHH!)
As if gravity itself was flipped on its side, she felt like she was falling horizontally, directly out to the wall of the spinning cyclone. Her body twisted and twirled uncontrollably within her green ball of protection, and she could only watch as the buildings zipped by at blinding speeds. When they finally made it to the edge, she braced herself for an impact only to be spat out onto the rooftop of a building on the other side along with the others, including Metal Bat and Pig God who flew out from another direction.
Her landing was clunky and a little rough, but considering how fast they were just moving, she assumed that Tornado must have done her best to slow them down.
"Ergh-!" With a groan, she sat up and gawked at the scale of the cyclone in front of them. It was a lot bigger than it felt on the inside... And it was weird how oddly calm it was now that they were out of it. She was no tornado expert, but it didn't seem like that was how they usually worked.
"Is everyone okay?" Tanktop Master asked, standing to his feet. Though his question was directed at no one in particular, his eyes were locked on the pink-haired woman sitting on her butt with a confused look on her face. She didn't seem to hear him so he stepped a little closer and cleared his throat. "... m-... Ma'am?"
"uh-!" she gasped. "o-Oh, I'm sorry. I'm... completely fine, I..." Her words died out when she noticed he was holding a hand out to help her up. It froze her because it reminded her of Saitama doing the same. She took the gesture with a kind smile. "Um... Heh, thank you..."
"Hmh... No problem," he said with a kind smile of his own. "The pleasure is mine."
Love didn't exactly know what he meant by that, but she shyly looked away. This moment was so surreal for her. To be surrounded by the S-Class heroes she had admired on TV for the past three years was like a dream she was afraid to wake up from. Still, they had to be thinking of some way to help, right?
"Hraggh!" Metal yelled, hitting a rock at the wall of the storm with a swing from his bat. It was swept into the stream before it even got close. "Damn brat! That's my kill!"
"Then, you should've killed it," Flashy Flash stated, always his antagonist.
Metal Bat took a deep breath and plopped down on his ass with a sigh. "Whatever...! This is bullshit..."
"Don't hang your head on it, kid," Tanktop Master said. "It is no fault of yours. This creature proved to be trickier than we thought. It's probably best we leave it to Tornado, now."
The others grumbled in agreeance, shocking Love completely. Were they really just giving up? "... i-Is there no way to help her?" she hesitantly asked.
"Tch," Metal Bat scoffed. "Yeah, if you can fight through a goddamned hurricane."
"The battle is beyond us," Tanktop Master added. "You shouldn't worry. Tornado is the number one hero in the organization. She'll be fine."
"y-Yeah, but..."
"t-Tornado is quite powerful," Pig God nervously spoke up. "She won't lose to a monster that weak. I actually don't know why she hasn't just gotten it over with, already..."
"Because she's waiting for him..."
They all turned to Flashy Flash who stood at the edge of the building with his arms crossed.
When he got everyone's attention, he ran a hand through his gently swaying hair and placed a foot up on the raised section of the ledge, letting his golden locks loose behind him. Then, he peeked back over his shoulder as if he were posing for a picture or something. "She's waiting for Saitama..."
Metal Bat narrowed his gaze with a suspicious sneer on his face. 'Heh... Does he think he looks cool or something...? I guess even he thinks she's a babe.' He looked over to Love who was staring at the idiot with a perplexed look on her face.
"Ah... So, you noticed, too," Tanktop Master said, stepping up to the ledge next to him.
Flashy Flash slid over a bit to maintain some space and studied him with a scrutinizing glare.
"I thought there was a rather strange tension when we parted ways... Hermgh!" he suddenly hit a flex as if he were a bodybuilder, presenting to the judges.
"Uh-!" Flashy Flash was shocked. His gaze flickered back to Love to see her staring at the muscle head's rippling bicep with a confused look. He aggressively turned back to the wall of the storm and somehow posed even harder into the wind. 'You think that even has a chance!? Keep dreaming!'
Tanktop Master clenched every muscle in his body. 'I'll show you the full strength and appeal of the Tanktop!'
Love watched the two peacocking men with a worried gaze. 'w-Why are they doing that? Are they okay?!'
(crunch-crunch-crunch)
She looked over when something tapped her shoulder to see Pig God holding out a bag of potato chips.
"... Want sh-ome?" he asked with a mouthful.
(woooOOOOSSSHHH CRASH!)
They all flinched when something came shooting through the wall of the storm, crashing down in the middle of their scattered formation. As soon as the other S-Class heroes noted it was Genos, they immediately got back to doing what they were doing as if nothing happened.
"er-! ergh!" Genos groaned, pulling himself from the debris. "Damn it!"
"d-Demon Cyborg!" Love exclaimed.
Metal Bat leaned back on his elbows when he saw it wasn't a threat. "What happened? She toss you, too?"
"No... I couldn't fight the wind pressure," he admitted with a frustrated tone. "I... wasn't strong enough..."
"Damn," the teen said. "I guess she's finally gettin' serious..."
Love watched the Cyborg climb back to his feet with a question on her mind, but considering it had already been answered multiple times, she was almost too afraid to ask. It just didn't seem right to leave her in there to fight all those monsters alone. Whether she could do it or not wasn't really the issue.
Genos stood to his full height and ran a quick systems diagnostic. When he was sure everything was in order, his engine started heating up again. "I'm going back in..."
"Keh," Metal Bat scoffed. "You too, huh?"
"We can't leave her to fight alone."
"i-I'm going with you," Love said, quickly jumping at the opportunity.
Genos turned to her with a stern look. He studied her up close again, still confused as to why Saitama didn't seem to be interested in her. She had all of the best qualities that King said to keep a close eye on when it came to a potential love interest... Yet, with their last conversation, Genos was convinced that his Master already had his heart set on another.
"Heh, yeah good luck makin' it back in," Metal Bat mocked, "and even if you do, that wind's just gonna toss your ass right back out."
Genos wanted to retort, but it was likely the truth. 'Still...'
"w-We have to try," Love said.
Genos turned back to her with a surprised expression. She looked absolutely terrified, but when their eyes met, she gave him a stern nod as if to confirm that she was completely onboard. A slight smile crept in on the cyborg's face, but it was short-lived. His look suddenly hardened and he spun around with his back to the wall of the storm almost defensively. "Something's coming."
"... Yeah," Flashy Flash said in a deep cool tone, still maintaining his poster-like pose on the ledge. "... I hear it too..."
"er-! a-As do... I!" Tanktop Master struggled out, still flexing.
"Urgh," Metal Bat groaned. "What the hell is it this time?" He pushed himself back to his feet with a few painful groans.
Love looked around at all of them as they seemed to be preparing for some sort of potential battle. She couldn't hear a thing...
"It's approaching fast," Genos stated firmly, kicking his engine up.
"Another monster?" Love asked.
"Maybe," he replied, quickly. "I can't get a read on it."
"How far?" Flashy Flash asked.
"10,000 meters... 6,000 meters... 4,000 meters."
"Uh-!" Flashy Flash exclaimed. He drew his blade and watched the horizon with a pointed glare. 'That fast!? What the hell could b-...' Slowly, his intense scowl started melting into a look of horrified realization. '... No...'
"2,000 meters! It's...!"
'no-No-NO!' Flashy Flash only had time to flinch before a rush of wind hit him in the face. It happened in an instant, and the only two fast enough to track it were Genos and Flashy Flash himself. He stared directly into the eyes of the bald man who outpaced him the other day as he passed them by with a jump from the street below. '... Saitama...!'
The caped-baldy raised a curious brow as he passed the group of familiar faces. 'Hm...? What are they doing out here...?'
(FWOOOSH!)
The world sped up all at once when he plowed through the outer wall of the spinning cyclone. Immediately, his body was swept up in the chaos of the rapidly whirling winds. He didn't even have a chance to catch his bearings before he was thrown threw the side of a building. He blasted out the other side with a wild spin and crashed into another across the street. Luckily, it was hard enough to indent his body in the brick, stopping his momentum. '... Whoa...'
Tatsumaki kept up the pressure of her storm and frantically searched around for any sign of the main creature. She swooped through the streets, essentially ignoring most of the clones that were still trying to keep a grip on something to hold themselves down. The ones that couldn't were swept away, either splattering against the buildings or adding to the cluster of beasts that were crashing around in the air.
At this point, she was just trying to get this over with so she could leave. That woman seemed to have a knack for showing up just to ruin her mood. What was it about her that had everyone melting in the palm of her hand? 'It's not like she even did anything useful... She just showed up and beat like, what, a handful of clones? Tch, big deal...!'
It felt like this was some sort of secret plot to worm her into S-Class, and judging by the reactions of her co-workers, it was working. They were all fawning over her like she was the most amazing woman they'd ever seen...
Obviously, she really couldn't give a rat's ass what they thought, but, '... What about Saitama...? What does he think...?'
Everything about their last encounter gave her a sneaking suspicion that he might like her, too, but if that girl were to make it into S-Class, would that change?
'Strong and beautiful?' Metal Bat's words came back to mind. 'We could definitely use some of that in S-Class...'
'She is really pretty,' Tatsumaki thought with a frustrated pout. 'a-And... I guess she wasn't too weak...' Her stomach turned at the thought of it. She knew that girl was nowhere near being on par with her strength-wise, but the other half of that formula was definitely up for debate... and she really wasn't sure it was if she were honest. '... a-... Am I...?'
She took a deep breath and huffed out an unsteady sigh, letting that last thought fade away. Her gaze continued sweeping through the crowd of clones. Then, she was snapped awake when something reflected into her eyes. It was the blade of that smart ass, Flashy Flash, sticking out of the head of one of the beasts. '... heh... Finall-..!'
(BOOM!)
Her thought was cut short by the sound of an impact from further down the street. She gasped and unintentionally held her breath when she saw who it was. The space between them was murky with chaos, yet they still found a way to catch each other's gaze.
Saitama was on all fours with his fingers jammed into the asphalt to anchor himself down. He was actually amazed by how steady she was floating in this storm. He couldn't even stand without being swept from his feet. 'Heh... I made it...!'
Tatsumaki tried to maintain her composure, but a small grin crept in. As fast as it did, it disappeared when she remembered her task. She turned back and spotted the main creature clawing its way toward the corner at the end of the block. If she got it now, then this could be all over, but-..
(Crack!)
"... oops," Saitama muttered. His hold on the street was so strong that he was starting to split the asphalt.
Tatsumaki hesitated.
Saitama tried to readjust his grip and immediately lost it altogether. "ergh-!" He clawed at the ground, tearing chunks with every swipe before he was lifted too high to reach it. As soon as his body caught a good stream, he was swept away, likely out to the wall of the storm. He slightly panicked and twisted through the air like a ragdoll trying to get his hands on anything he could reach. When he was sure it was useless, he resigned to preemptively thinking of a better way to approach this. '... Maybe If I put rocks in my pockets, I ca-.."
Suddenly, his wrist was grabbed in the softest way possible, yet it was somehow strong enough to hold him steady. He stared at the nimble fingers wrapped around his red glove for a moment until his gaze trickled up and he locked eyes with Tatsumaki again... and Saitama was absolutely mesmerized...
In his defense, it was almost hard not to be. They were up near the top of the storm where the wind wasn't as strong, so the wall of pink flower petals had started to scatter a bit. They swirled all around her, and he was so intensely focused on her big bright eyes that he could even see the reflection of the few that flew between them.
Tatsumaki held his gaze for a long while before realizing she was still holding his wrist. She shyly looked away and thought of what to do to help him withstand the storm. Below, she spotted a toppled building that looked like it was falling apart, already. With a reach from her free hand, she split it into big chunks and lifted the slabs of concrete into the air, just enough for them to catch the wind. After a while, they were rotating steadily, all around the storm. When she got a chance, she gently let him go, and he landed on one of the moving platforms in a crouch.
"... Heh," Saitama chuckled. It reminded him of his Serious Tableflip move, only this time he was spinning. He stood to his feet and wobbled a bit before he caught his balance.
Tatsumaki patiently watched him circle around her until he got the hang of it. When he finally did, he looked up at her and they locked eyes again for a long and very awkward moment as if they didn't know what was supposed to happen next. Now, it felt like they were more alone than ever before, tucked away in a corner of the world that no one else could reach, but it was too loud for a conversation. They could barely hear their own thoughts.
Tatsumaki pursed her lips to keep her cheeks from rising and looked around at the ever-growing mass of monsters below. With a flick of her hand, a large group of them were ripped from their anchored positions. The moment they caught an air pocket, they were swept up in the storm. Some managed to regain their grip on the surrounding buildings, but most of them shot up to the top of the cyclone, either crashing into one of the surrounding slabs or just violently twisting in the air.
Saitama was confused for a moment until he looked back to Tatsumaki to see the challenging glint in her eyes. She did a little playful twirl before she found his gaze again. He was so focused that he almost couldn't even hear the storm anymore. The entire world just drifted away as he watched her go...
Tatsumaki eventually looked away when the moment felt a little too intense. She glanced down and noted that a few of the creatures were starting to get their footing on the slabs of concrete circling around her. With one more challenging peek at Saitama, she shot off in a spiral.
He continued to watch her for a long moment. It was like she was moving with the wind, tearing through the surrounding monsters with ease. One strike and no more, which was a sensation Saitama knew well. For a moment, he was locked at the knees. Then, she clotheslined one of the beasts and peeked back at him with a look that felt like she was saying come-and-get-me...
Saitama smiled and launched himself from his platform, hard enough to tear right through the surging winds.
Tatsumaki watched him plow through one of the creatures with that ridiculous strength before he landed in a crouch on another section of the broken building, again using his fingers as anchor points. She chuckled and barrel-rolled through the air. Along the way, she snatched one of the clones by its hindleg and violently launched it at another, nearby.
In response, Saitama did the same thing. Tatsumaki narrowed her gaze. 'Is... Is he copying me...?'
Saitama watched the creature he threw crash into another hard enough to splatter them both. "... Heh," he chuckled and turned back to her with a focused look.
Tatsumaki held his gaze for a long moment, barely containing her amused smile. '... Okay...' Her eyes flickered down and back again, then as if she were trying to get the head start in a race, she blasted into a nose dive.
Saitama immediately launched himself after her, using the floating platforms as stepping stones to drive himself into the heart of the storm.
Tatsumaki peeked back to see he was still hot on her trail. "... Heh," she chuckled. With a sudden barrel roll, she barely swiveled out of the way of one of the creatures that came shooting up past her.
Saitama was caught by surprise. He plowed into the monster's chest before it could get a grip on him. With his hand pointed, he jabbed down and tore a hole straight through its chest. Then, he used his other hand to chop at its side to tear it in half.
Tatsumaki chuckled as she watched him wipe at the bright green blood in his eyes. She quickly spotted another clone nearby and did exactly as he did, only without the mess. The creature's innards slipped right off of a shallow barrier before it could touch her. She turned back to Saitama with a mocking sneer.
Again, he was watching her so closely that he didn't even feel himself being swept back up to the top. As soon as he did, he fumbled through the air until he found a slab to plant his feet on. When he caught his bearings, Tatsumaki was still watching him with that challenging look in her eyes. 'Heh, she's fast... I might have to get a little serious...'
(BOOM!)
He jumped from the platform, hard enough to shatter it to pieces.
(Boom...! Boom! BOOM!)
Genos flew in circles around the spinning cyclone, scanning for any weak points in its volatile wall of rushing wind. With every thundering sound of an impact, the storm wall would bulge and expand, but it always held strong. Even the top was sealed off, somehow. It was like Tornado was deliberately trying to keep everyone out, and she was doing one hell of a job at it. But from the sounds of whatever spectacular battle was happening, he just wasn't content with sitting on the sidelines. He had to find a way in, somehow...
Below him, Love jumped from building to building, looking for the same. She was expecting the storm to run out of steam, eventually, but it felt like it was getting stronger by the second. Tornado really was reminiscent of her namesake; a true force of nature. Love could remember her days of first seeing her on the news when she was stuck in that facility. She remembered just how inspiring it was to see a woman fighting with the best of the best. Aside from Saitama himself, she was easily her favorite S-Class hero.
To see her work up close was beyond motivational, and all she really wanted to do was help however possible. Unfortunately, it didn't look like she was gonna get a chance. It was even more frustrating knowing Saitama was in there... for a number of reasons. The most important was the implication of what Flashy Flash said on that rooftop.
'... Tornado was waiting for him...? Why...?' She was hoping it was nothing, but it didn't feel like it. Especially considering that Saitama kept saying he was in a rush to make it somewhere. '... Was he... rushing to her...?'
The thought alone put a knot in her stomach. Could Tornado actually like Saitama, too? Or perhaps a more important question would be; does Saitama like her...?
If the answer to either of those questions was 'yes', then it made her wonder, '... Do I even have a chance...?'
(woooOOSSSHHH!)
Genos slowed his descent before he landed in her path, forcing her to a stop. "There's no chance," he stated.
"uh-!" she gasped. "w-... What?"
The Cyborg stood to his feet and continued to review his collected data. "The wind speeds of the storm's outer shell are exceeding 300 miles per hour, and my sensors are telling me that the speeds within may be even more volatile. Your body wouldn't be able to handle the strain... and unfortunately, neither would mine..."
'... 300 miles an hour...?' That sounded excessively fast. "... So... w-What do we do...?"
Genos dropped to a knee and scowled at the wall of pink flower petals. Though he hated to do it, they really only had one option. "We wait..."
"For what?" she asked.
"... For Master Saitama to win..."
Love's shoulders slumped at the sound of that. For a hero known as One-Punch-Man, that sounded like it was sure to be a quick task, but, '... is he even trying to win...?'
(BOOM!)
Saitama plowed through another monster and landed on one of the floating slabs. He quickly reestablished his view of Tatsumaki and launched himself down into the storm again. He was still chasing her every move, but she was damn near untouchable with the unsteadily high speeds of the wind knocking him around.
Tatsumaki saw him coming and swerved out of the way. Saitama was incredibly fast, and he maneuvered through the chaos somehow even better than her at times, but she was still managing to evade him at every attempt. Funny enough, she had no idea he was even trying to catch her up until a few moments ago when he barely missed grazing her thigh. As soon as she realized what game he was actually playing, she was determined to win, and he hadn't gotten close since. With a devious grin, she kicked up her pace and swooped down into the maze of buildings below, where the wind speeds were the strongest.
Saitama was unrelenting. He kicked off of another platform with just enough force for him to reach the edge of the tallest building left standing. He dug his fingers into the cement and started pulling himself down with a focused look. His physical strength obviously wasn't much of an issue. It was more how delicate he had to be so that the brittle concrete didn't crumble beneath his grip. He managed to pull himself low enough to reach the nearest window and busted his way through the thick glass.
The second he entered the building, his sense of gravity returned and he flipped over, landing on his feet with a stumble. It was some sort of professional-looking corner office, completely trashed from the chaotic attack. He jumped over the mess in the center of the room. The door leading to the hall was blocked by debris, so he punched his way out and quickly maneuvered through the building until he found a window where he could catch a glimpse of Tatsumaki. She twirled her way around the corner and looked right at him with a mocking grin as if she had been watching him the whole time.
"... heh," Saitama chuckled. He jumped through the thick glass and, immediately, the wind caught him and pushed him back. Then, he planted his boots on the cement and launched himself hard enough to shatter the entire face of the building.
He hooked the edge of the next one to slingshot himself forward with enough force to make a reach for Tatsumaki who was just rounding the corner.
She saw him coming and sped up just enough so that he barely missed her and crashed into a shop along the road. Then, for no real reason, she stopped and waited for him to emerge as if she were checking to see if he was okay. When he popped up, he had a to-go bag from a store with a smiley face logo stuck on his head, and he was waving his arms as if he were fumbling around the darkness for a light switch. It was stupid, but it made Tatsumaki giggle before she flew away.
Saitama ripped the bag from his face and watched her go for a second. "... heh-heh... Damn," he muttered. "Close..." He quickly scrambled back into the chase by jumping to the building across the street. On all fours, he clawed his way along the brick until Tatsumaki suddenly popped one of the monsters up from the street, right in his path. He smashed right through it, but it cost him a steady handle on his grip, and he drifted too far from the wall. The wind did its thing and swept him back up. Luckily, he managed to snag another ledge before he found himself in the dead space above, but now he lost sight of her...
(wooOOSH! BOOM!)
Saitama jumped to another ledge just before one of the clones shattered the spot he stood on. He almost wrote it off as an accident until he finally spotted Tatsumaki in the air again. She had two more of the creatures held in her psychic grip, floating behind her like cannons ready to be fired.
'... Heh... That... kinda feels like cheating, but... okay...'
Tatsumaki could tell he understood the implication, and she launched another beast his way at a blazing speed. Saitama lunged into the side of the next building over, and she eagerly swooped after him.
He found himself in an office space with big glass windows all around, giving him a great view of his surroundings. He ran through the quiet room and locked eyes with Tatsumaki who was swooping around the building with two of the monsters limply dragging behind her. When she felt she had a good enough lock on him, she shot one his way.
(CRASH!)
The limp carcass busted through the thick glass and destroyed a row of flimsily made cubicles in pursuit of Saitama, but he managed to avoid it. He kept running and nearly jumped out of the building until Tatsumaki swooped around to cut him off, launching another creature.
Saitama jumped up and busted through to the next floor before it crashed through the glass. True to the layout of a typical office setting, this one was also filled to the brim with cubicles and toppled over swivel chairs. He cut back and started running the other way, and she was quick to circle after him.
Tatsumaki watched him through the windows with a grin, plucking more of the creatures off the street to use as projectiles. He couldn't catch her if she kept him at bay with her range. It made sense for him to hide in a building, considering how tough it likely was for him to evade her attacks while fighting the wind. Unfortunately, it left him little opportunity to catch her by surprise.
She fired the beasts off in rapid succession, peppering the entire building as Saitama jumped through the ceilings and stomped down to the lower floors to evade. 'Hm-hm! As long as I can still see you, you'll never catch me, you dummy!'
As if he could hear her thoughts Saitama suddenly stopped and looked back at her through one of the shattered windows... Then, he smiled and punched his way into the elevator shaft, disappearing into the darkness.
Tatsumaki narrowed her gaze and drifted back some to get a look at the entire building. The shaft ran through the very center of each room. He could realistically pop out wherever he wanted, but she knew it was either through the ground floor or the roof. Her gut told her the former considering he'd just be throwing himself into the wind otherwise, so she swooped down and cleared the cluster of anchored monsters below to square off with the entrance...
(boom...! boom! Boom!)
She immediately realized she guessed wrong when a few blasts sounded off up top. With no hesitation, she blasted back into the air, taking another handful of creatures in pursuit of the thumping sounds of collisions still climbing to the roof. She managed to beat it, and patiently waited for him to come busting through the roof, but...
(BOOM!)
"... Uh!" she gasped. It was the counterweight for the elevator that came shooting out, instead. As soon as she realized his clever plan, she looked back down to the street below with a focused glare...
(Crack!)
The asphalt on the road suddenly split as if there were an air bubble boiling beneath it. A few of the creatures that were hanging on for dear life scrambled to readjust their grip when the crack crumbled their hold on the street. Those that failed were swiftly swept away, clawing at whatever they could, including other clones.
Tatsumaki readied her next assault and held her breath...
(BOOM!)
Saitama punched his way out from underground and the entire street exploded for at least three blocks, throwing hundreds of monsters into the air.
Tatsumaki tracked the bright hero through the swirling chaos and launched three of the beasts in his direction with pinpoint accuracy. Somehow, he was able to evade, using the airborne creatures as cover when needed. She swiveled her way through, collecting more of the clones along her way with an excited grin.
For as dumb as she thought he was when they first met, Saitama always seemed to impress her with his combat intelligence. He rarely ever got to show it, considering how easy it was for him to take a win, but he was far from stupid.
(woooOOOSSSHHH!)
"uh-!" she gasped and narrowly avoided one of the creatures that came screaming at her. She quickly reestablished a visual and, to her shock, Saitama had two of the beasts held in a vice-like grip. To see him ready to use her tactic against her was shocking, but it wasn't what froze her at that moment...
He had a smile on his face. One that she had never seen from him before. It wasn't as dry as his usual dead-eyed grin. It was warm and inviting, like something she'd probably see Fubuki wear when watching the 'fun parts' of a movie. '... Hmhm... Cute...'
Saitama threw one of the clones her way with so much force that it caused a sonic bomb from the snap of his release and it managed to change his direction in the storm. Tatsumaki dodged the attack and quickly focused back in. She smiled at him and kicked up her pace.
Like children in a snowball fight, the top two heroes of the Hero Association mindlessly chased each other through the storm, launching the creatures back and forth. Their playground was a section of City-B so demolished that Tatsumaki knew it would likely be condemned anyways until they commissioned Metal Knight to fix it. So, she held nothing back. For the first time in a long time, she let herself have fun... and it wasn't the terrifying fun she felt when fighting something that could potentially kill her. This had nothing to do with finding the main creature, anymore. She didn't care about the mission or proving herself better than that pink-haired stranger everyone was fawning over... and she honestly didn't even care if Saitama managed to catch her. The only thing on her mind was, if he did, could they play again or was it over?
Saitama was in a very similar boat. He casually dodged the projectile monsters she threw at him with ease as he fired shots back and tried to get in close enough to reach her. All while he was essentially zoned out, trying to make sense of his confusing feelings.
Normally, he'd probably be bored of something like this, by now. His life wasn't in danger, and nothing specifically fantastic was happening, yet he honestly didn't want this to end too soon...
Not too long ago, coming out to fight disappointing monsters just felt like a chore. It was the main reason he gave up on doing hero work in the first place. He hated the disappointment of killing everything that he fought with a single punch. He hated it so much that he really thought he'd be happier just bagging groceries for a while. It's been his main issue for the past two years, and this mission, in particular, was almost a perfect metaphor happening in real time. The monsters kept coming and coming, but they never got any stronger... and so far he saw no end to the cycle. Realistically, this should be like a nightmare to him, but it was almost like the exact opposite. A dream that he didn't want to wake up from, '... Because she's here...' And as long as she was, then, '... heh... I could do this all day...'
"w-Wait!" he suddenly heard Tatsumaki yell when she launched another creature at him.
"... Hm?" Saitama furrowed his brow as he examined the incoming attack. The beast looked exactly like all the others, only this one had a blade jammed in its head. '... That's weird...'
(BOOM!)
With a single punch, he exploded everything above its waistline, and as soon as he did, there was some sort of anguished reaction from the other creatures.
Tatsumaki momentarily forgot about steadying her flight as she looked around with a regretful frown. What were the odds that she'd manage to pick the main creature out of the mass of bodies at random? After hours of trying to kill the stupid thing, of course, it came easy when she really didn't want to. She mindlessly let herself be swept away by the wind with a disappointed slouch...
Unfortunately, for her, Saitama had no idea what was going on. So, he was still intently focused on trying to catch her. He saw his moment when she made the grave mistake of drifting directly into a good stream of wind. He took the opening without hesitation and jumped from a platform with a bullet-like velocity. 'heh! There...!'
"Uh-!" Tatsumaki gasped when she finally noticed him. It was too late. All she could manage to do was shift her body down so that he didn't crash into her. She reached her hand at him by reflex.
Saitama noticed and figured she was gonna try and throw him off her trail with another monster or a barrier or something, so he reached out and grabbed her hand and tackled her through the air.
They both grunted at the light collision and spun with the momentum until Tatsumaki caught her bearings and gently stopped them. She then held her breath... and stared right into his eyes that were closer than ever.
Saitama still had a gentle grip on her hand, and he was almost too focused on just how much smaller it was than his own. It caught his attention so much that he didn't even realize how close they were until he could feel her lightly labored breaths tickling his chin. He then snapped himself from his daze and noticed the blush on her face... And then he noticed that his other hand was around her lower back. If anyone had been around to see them, it would probably look like they were slow dancing or something. "... eh-!" His face went as red as hers and he immediately drew his hands back. "o-Oh... s-... sorry. I..." Again, he was so mesmerized that he didn't even realize he was floating away... only this time he was sinking.
Tatsumaki was shell-shocked by the intimate moment, and she was unintentionally letting her control of the storm slip. Then, with a gasp, she looked around to see the wall was starting to peek through. She couldn't make out anyone specific, but she could definitely see the murky silhouettes lining the edges of the buildings as if they were ready to jump through. 'No!' With a big burst of energy, she abruptly kicked up the wind speeds to an even greater degree.
"... w-Whoa!"
Her head snapped around and she saw Saitama shooting back up to the top of the storm wall.
'NO!' She blasted off, trying to reach him before he broke through.
In his ragdoll-like state, Saitama wildly swung around, hoping one of those concrete slabs was left somewhere near the top for him to grab, but he was out of luck. He did, however, spot Tatsumaki chasing after him. She was fast, but it didn't look like she was gonna make it before he was thrown through the wall of the storm. He watched her reach a hand out for him, and he assumed she was trying to grab him with her power. 'I thought that didn't work on me...'
Tatsumaki tried anyways. She wasn't ready for this to be over yet... whatever this was...
Saitama tried to recall why she couldn't. It was something about consent if he remembered correctly. 'Was it... verbal consent, or like a written thing?'
"Tch-!" Tatsumaki sneered. She was trying so hard that her hands were shaking. She could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to stay, but his body still wouldn't respond to her. 'Just... let me grab you!' As if it were her final attempt, she put her all into it, and still... it shocked her to see him screech to a halt.
"... Uh-!" Saitama gasped. He peeked back and saw that his cape was nearly scraping the wall of pink flower petals, but his body wasn't moving. 'Heh... No way...'
Tatsumaki could finally breathe again. Her hands were still pointed his way, but it felt like she didn't need them anymore. Even getting a grip on him just moments ago felt impossible, but now it felt as easy as grabbing anyone else... or maybe even easier, somehow...
Saitama was mesmerized by his own dangling feet. The sensation of just being completely stationary in the middle of the air with no force on him was trippy. He had always wondered what it would feel like to fly like this. It was like he had no weight to him at all. 'Heh... All I did was relax my body... Maybe that's what she meant...'
Tatsumaki watched him marvel at his stationary position with a small uncertain grin on her face. 'w-... Was that weird to do...? He's definitely gonna ask me why I caught him... w-What do I say...?' She averted his gaze and looked down to the city below. The clones were starting to disintegrate, turning into some sort of flaky brown mess that quickly melded into the storm wall and dirtied the lower half.
"Hey!" Saitama called out over the wind, drawing her attention. "You did it!"
After a moment of hesitation, she tucked her arms over her chest and slowly pulled him closer. He was astonished by how steadily his body was moving through the chaotic winds and Tatsumaki had to stifle a smile watching him dip his hands around like a child in a car window. "... y-... You were late," she timidly said, stopping him a few feet away.
Her words froze him for a moment. '... Was she... waiting for me?' he wondered. "Oh, uh... Yeah..." He awkwardly scratched at his cheek. "I ran into some weird old lady on the way that... actually turned out to be this really weird lightning-guy, or something, who said he was the one making these monsters."
"wha-... Really?" she asked in a slightly urgent tone. "Well, where is he at?"
"I punched him," he shrugged.
"o-... Oh... Good," she muttered. For some reason, Saitama smiled a bit when she said that, and she bashfully looked away. "... Sooo... That wasss..." She wanted to say it was fun, but considering her harsh words when they were talking in the meeting room, the hypocrisy froze her.
"Good teamwork," Saitama suddenly finished for her.
"y-Yeah! Good... Good teamwork, heh..." She shied away when she realized how excited that came out. "y-You were... good..."
Saitama watched as a strand of hair whipped into her face, and she hooked it with her finger to drag it away. Such a simple and forgettable thing, but it caught his attention more than it should have. "... Yeah," he muttered with a dazed look. "You too..."
Tatsumaki's smile deepened and she looked away to hide it.
Now that they were out of the chaos of a mission, and Saitama wasn't focused on fighting the wind, he had a real chance to look at her in a clear light, and it was just as he thought. '... She really is kinda... beautiful...' The thought had him blushing, and he sputtered to find a question when she suddenly looked back his way. "s-So, uh... heh-heh..." His gaze drifted around the strange dome of pink flower petals. "This... this move is pretty cool... Is it new?"
Tatsumaki was next to struggle with her words when he looked back at her. "w-Well, it's... i-It's not really like a... move-move, heh... I just... kinda did it, I guess..."
He stared at her for a moment longer and she awkwardly crumbled under his gaze. His presence alone made her feel weak at the knees, even though her feet were far from the ground.
"... Hm-hm," he chuckled, lightly, and looked away again. "... Amazing..."
Now, it was Tatsumaki's turn to watch him. By all accounts, the backdrop of the pink flower petals should have been a bitter reminder of the girl waiting outside the storm wall, but she was so far out of mind that Tatsumaki forgot about her. Right now, she only saw Saitama, as if they were the only two that existed.
His eyes, usually dull and disinterested, were shining, and reflecting the beautiful chaos of this small little section of the world they were in. It was their first moment of peace since they reunited, yet Tatsumaki's heart was racing more than ever. She had never felt so terrified in her life. Years of facing monsters and otherworldly beings of immense power somehow couldn't even compare. Still, just like at his Fanclub event, she didn't want this to end. If it was with Saitama, she could fight through the awkward tension all day.
Saitama suddenly looked back at her before she could look away. She gave him a weird smile that he returned with one of his own before they turned back to the storm.
Things got a little awkward after that. It was immediately apparent that the mission was over, but neither one of them looked like they were ready to leave. Tatsumaki was thinking of something to say, but Saitama broke the silence before she could.
"Hey, do you think we have to do that whole 'report' thing?" he asked. "I mean... you were off today, too, right?"
"Yeah," she said. "We're... usually supposed to do the mission report right away, but... i-I was just gonna... go home, I guess..." She snuck a glance his way to see his reaction and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "They'll... probably just call us in later, anyways..."
"Oh," Saitama muttered. '... She's just gonna go home...?' He looked around and awkwardly rubbed his neck. That was usually what he did at the end of a mission, himself, but it felt like such an abrupt and disappointing ending to such a great day. He looked back at her and watched her awkwardly looking down at her dangling feet as if there was something of interest inscribed in the toe of her high heel. He had an idea brewing in his mind, and everything about the situation told him it could work out well, this time around, but it still felt like a risky move. With a deep breath he decided to go for it. What was the worst that could happen? "... Well... Hey, since we're done here, I uh... i-I was wondering if you'd..." His words were cut short when he looked back to see the almost eager look on her face.
"... y-Yeah?"
"... i-... i-I was... wondering if... you could take me home, too...?" He folded. "y-You know, since we're neighbors, and all, heh..."
Tatsumaki's expression softened a little. For just a second there, she thought he was about to ask something else. "o-Oh... Yeah, sure, heh... No problem..."
Saitama nodded and took a deep breath, giving the dome of whirling winds one last look. "Okay, cool... So, uh... What do I do?"
"Hm?"
"To fly," he clarified. "Do I just..."
She watched him lift a fist in the air as if that was all it took for him to shoot off. "... heh-heh," she chuckled. "Um... n-No, you actually just have to... flap your arms..."
"... Huh?" He had never seen her do that, but maybe it was different for the people she was carrying. "... Like a bird or something?"
"Yeah, like a bird..." She was doing her best to hide her amused grin, but it was creeping out, regardless... and it only grew as she watched him try.
He flapped his arms a few times and looked down at the ground to see if he was getting any higher, but he couldn't really tell. "... Um... I don't think it's working," he said.
"Hm-hm," she giggled. "Oh, it's definitely working... heh, y-You're just not doing it hard enough."
"... Oh," he muttered...
(THOOM!)
With a big flap of his arms, he suddenly shot off through the roof of the storm, shocking Tatsumaki completely. She was clearly joking. He shouldn't have been able to move unless she herself commanded it, but the force of his flap actually managed to push him out of her control. "Heh...! No way...!"
(THOOM!)
She took off after him, leaving the storm behind to slowly fade away.
(A few minutes ago)
With his hands in the pockets of a black hoodie he found, Garou trudged his way down a street that was completely torn to shreds, even more so than the main battle zone. He could see the towering cyclone in the distance, and he could feel its volatile quake beneath his feet.
With every step he took, he drew closer to the only thing left on the dilapidated street after the incredibly brief battle he witnessed a while ago. It was Code sprawled out on the ground with a lifeless glare in his eyes. His little devil man costume was torn to shreds and half of his torso was completely blown away.
'Tch... So much for your introduction,' Garou mocked in his head. He still couldn't believe the idiot actually thought he could tank Saitama's punch as if he were really a cut above the rest. '... And what the hell was with that lightning shit? It was violent and definitely damaging, but it wasn't shit compared to what he showed me... Is this guy really just a jackass?'
For all that shit talking about how bad Garou did as the villain just for Code to lose the same way, the irony was hilarious, and he almost wished that this could just be the end of it...
"So... that was him, huh...?"
Garou didn't even flinch when the corpse suddenly spoke. He didn't expect it, but it didn't really surprise him.
"Heh-heh... I can definitely see it, now... Why you lost..."
Garou sneered, not only at his words but at the look in his lifeless eyes when he chuckled. He wasn't clinging to his last breath, or slowly fading away; he was a literal corpse. It was reasonably terrifying as if not even death itself was enough to stop this monster.
"He really is unfair..."
Garou's eyes shifted to the storm again with a dazed expression. "... You ready to quit?" he asked in a flat tone.
Code's corpse suddenly shut its lifeless eyes, and with a deep inhale, his fatal chest wound started healing itself at a rapid pace, completely reforming the chunk that was blown away. When his body was mended and the color of his skin slowly started to warm again, he opened his eyes and stared up at the evening sky. "Nope... Just had to know what I'm up against... and now, I do..."
He hopped back up to his feet and Garou watched as he pulled his journal out of his back pocket.
"He's way off the fuckin' script, that guy... Heh-heh-heh... He's not like any hero I've ever seen, or... imagined..."
"That a good thing?" Garou asked.
Code scoffed and lightly shook his head. With a deep breath and a sigh, he looked out to the storm system himself when the top suddenly exploded outward. With the pink flower petals spurting apart, and the brown flakes of the dispersing clones dominating the bottom, it almost resembled a giant cherry blossom tree, slowly fading away...
"No," he finally answered with a stern voice. "No, it is not..." He snapped his book shut and turned around, walking the other way.
Garou still had his eyes on the fading storm in the distance as he brushed past him. When he turned to follow him, Code was now back in his professional-looking business suit, straightening his tie as he walked.
"But that's okay, Saitama," he muttered to himself, just loud enough for Garou to hear. "... I'm gonna fix you..."
Tatsumaki broke through the clouds with a smile, frantically searching for Saitama. The sun was nearly set, now. The colors of the sky were vivid and beautiful to look at. Shades of yellow, purple, and orange were all fighting for the spotlight and slowly fading into the creeping deep blue of the night. In her opinion, it was always the most beautiful time of day, but her focus was on finding Saitama. Eventually, she spotted him flailing his arms in the distance, already on a descent back through the clouds. She shook her head in disbelief and zoomed over to catch him.
Saitama was thrashing around, not from fear of the fall, but because he honestly couldn't tell if he was still going up. That crazy technique of hers really did a number on his sense of direction. He wasn't really afraid of drifting into space. He'd been before, but that time he was just lucky enough to have landed on the moon. If he missed, there was no telling how he'd manage to get back.
He shielded his eyes just before he passed through another cloud and immediately calmed down when he saw that he was actually falling. Then, his body was yanked to a halt when Tatsumaki snagged the end of his cape.
"... Relax," she said with a smile. "I got you..."
"Heh..." He put his arms out slowly as if to show her that he was calm.
Tatsumaki kept her hold on his cape until she was sure she had him. Then, she pulled him up through the clouds again.
"Did I do it too hard, that time?" he wondered, still holding his arms out as if he were balancing.
"Eh-heh, uh... yeah," she said in a tone implying that should be obvious. "And, I was joking, anyway. You don't really have to flap your arms."
"Oh... heh... Yeah, I thought that was dumb."
"Pfft, then why'd you do it?"
He hummed I-don't-know with a shrug and a cheeky smile. "... It kinda worked, though."
"Keh-! Yeah, right," she said, waving the idea away. "That wasn't flying."
"What? It definitely was," he countered. "I never touched the ground."
"Because I caught you?"
"... Well, how do you know I just wasn't done flying, already?"
"Heh-hah! Yeah, right!" she yelled. "You were totally freaking out! What, are you afraid of heights, or something?"
"w-... Well, yeah, actually," he said in an oddly believable tone. "I... fell down the stairs when I was a kid, and I've been scared of heights ever since..."
Tatsumaki suspiciously narrowed her eyes at him. His expression was completely flat, so she couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. In the back of her mind, she was obviously doubting it, but she was trying to be nice, so she shrunk away, just in case. "... Oh..."
"Yup," Saitama nodded with a wistful look in his eyes. "... I bet you feel terrible, now."
"You idiot!" she exclaimed with a smile, blasting away with a gentle boom.
Saitama's composure slipped watching her go. Then, his body was suddenly yanked along for the ride. "Heh-! You're not gonna drop me, right!?"
"I might!" she yelled back.
For a very peaceful moment, they didn't say a word to each other. Tatsumaki flew them through the maze of clouds as the last sliver of day finally faded away, leaving them in the dim blue tone of the moonlight. She couldn't even say for sure she was going the right way anymore. All she knew for a fact was that Saitama was definitely flirting with her. Her experience on the subject was basically zero, but he wasn't exactly subtle about it. Definitely vague, but he was clearly friendlier than she had ever seen him. '... Though, I guess that doesn't necessarily mean he likes me,' she reasoned. 'He's... he's just nice to everyone...' She looked back to check on him and saw he was running his hands through the clouds they were passing with a happy little grin on his face. '... and I guess he likes flying...' Again, watching him smile was all it took to get her. "Hmh," she chuckled lightly and turned back.
Saitama heard her and turned back a second after she looked away. He took note of the small curl of her lips. She sure was smiling a lot today...
He tried his hardest to focus on that, but from where she had him, he, unfortunately, had all of her in full view. His gaze fought hard to keep from wandering where it shouldn't, but it was almost too enticing.
The slits of her dress were much higher on her waist than he had ever cared to notice before, and the resulting curtains were almost unrealistically covering everything that... one would probably want to see...
Every time he looked away out of respect, his gaze somehow happened to trickle right back as if her figure was compelling him to take a glance...
Tatsumaki suddenly looked over her shoulder again and Saitama's eyes frantically wandered around anywhere else until he met her gaze as if he were never looking. For a tense moment, he thought he was caught until she smiled at him. He awkwardly smiled back and watched her turn away.
'... phew, I thought I was done for...' He didn't dare look again. Instead, his gaze drifted ahead to the beautiful scenery of the clouds where he thought about the day as a whole.
It was another day off interrupted by a lengthy mission, but just like last time, it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was likely the best day he'd had in a while. It was partially because of Genos and King taking him to that bar, but the main reason was her. A girl that ruthlessly slandered his unfortunate condition when they first met.
'You don't... want anything...?'
Her words came back to him, again, ringing through his head like an enchanting song that he couldn't ignore if he tried. It was just another form of the question he had heard a thousand times before. He heard it from Genos, Bang, and Metal Bat, and he had no answer for any of them. It was only when he remembered her voice asking him did he manage to almost come up with something. The 'something' always eluded him before, but he could take a guess at what it was when he glanced back to the side of her face. Admitting it was the hard part...
He was soon pulled from his thoughts when Tatsumaki slowly dipped them down through the clouds, revealing their apartment building below. For some reason, he thought it'd take a little longer... or he hoped so, at least...
Tatsumaki slowed to a stop in the air, and she delicately lowered Saitama until his feet touched down on the helipad connected to his room. "w-.. Well," she muttered with an awkward smile, again struggling to meet his gaze. "Here we are..."
"Uh... Yeah," Saitama replied. "Here we are..."
Again, for what felt like the thousandth time that day, an awkward tension settled between them, and neither seemed like they knew what to do next. They looked around at nothing in particular until their gazes met, and they both nervously chuckled.
Saitama couldn't seem to form a thought anymore. Despite the nicer shift in her demeanor, he was still aware of just how easy it was to set off the Tornado of Terror, and his track record of saying stupid things around her froze him up.
And Tatsumaki wasn't quite sure how to do this flirting thing in the first place. It wasn't easy when she wasn't willing to dilute herself into a lesser woman like the leads in those cheesy rom-coms. She tucked her hair behind her ear and slowly started drifting toward her side of the building. "Um... I guess, I'll... see you later, then?"
Saitama watched her the whole way. He was so entranced that he almost didn't hear her question. "... Yeah," he finally replied. "... Later..."
Tatsumaki held his gaze for a moment longer before she turned away and swooped around to her balcony.
Saitama watched her go until he couldn't see her anymore. When she was out of sight, his smile grew even more and he turned back to the view of the city. '... I'll see you later, then...'
Tatsumaki sneakily watched him from around the corner for just a few more moments. Even now she could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. She still wasn't completely sure about a lot of things that happened today, but it felt like a huge step in the right direction. Her gaze shimmied its way up and down Saitama's form before she settled on that smile of his... and again, it forced one out of her. "Hmhm," she chuckled lightly through her grin. '... Goodnight, Saitama...'
AN: There we go! Hopefully, the romance reads better than I think it does. I'm admittedly a little self-conscious about writing fluffy love sections like these, but it is another aspect of writing I would really like to pen down and add to my bag of tools, so I'd appreciate your guys' thoughts on that.
Before I take this brief hiatus, I want to say again that I am so thankful to all of you for reading my story. I know it may not seem like that big of a deal since it's free, but it really does mean a lot. Thank you all! When I get back, I promise to finish this story in a satisfying way! Until then, I love you guys, and enjoy the rest of your day!