I hope you like the new cover! I made it myself :))
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The ship rumbled gently as it touched down on A City. The shaking had finally stopped.
Saitama peered over the edge. It was around a fifty-or-so meter drop. Not too bad, he guessed. He just hoped his cape wouldn't get caught on anything on the way down — and now that he mentioned it, it probably would. Stepping to the side of the ship, he took a breath.
"Here goes nothing," Saitama said.
Leg half-raised and ready to jump, the hero felt a tug on his sleeve.
"Oi… baldy," Tatsumaki said weakly.
"The name's Saitama," he replied, frowning. "What do you want? Are you afraid of heights?"
If the esper had the energy to scoff, she would have. "Of course not! Le… ah… let me down."
"Uh, okay." Shrugging, the bald man placed the esper down on the ground beside him.
The alien's attack was still burned into her vision. His grip on her throat smoldered like hot coal in her mind.
'I failed,' Tatsumaki thought, chest tightening painfully. 'That alien took me off guard. I… I didn't even have the strength to see how it ended. Did this baldy really…?'
She looked over to Saitama, who was picking his nose. He was muttering something to himself, something like 'scrambled eggs and rice?' The esper couldn't look away faster if she tried.
'God help me,' Tatsumaki said, looking to the sky. 'I can't believe that idiot saw me like this. If he tells the others about how I couldn't face up to that alien freak, it doesn't matter how strong he is — I swear I'll kill him!' The esper calmed herself. 'Right now, though… the only important thing is,' Standing up shakily, the esper tried to call on her powers. 'I have to get out of here.'
Tatsumaki's form flickered green, but her body wouldn't allow for any more than that.
"Ghh!"
The esper's head pounded, blood trickling down her face.
Drip… drip.
It… it wasn't stopping.
"Ah…!" The esper clutched her forehead, dropping back onto the floor. She'd gone too far. Pushing one's powers when they were completely drained was not something an esper ever wanted to do. After Boros' first attack, she could definitely feel her hold on her powers getting weaker. Now she was definitely all out. The bastard had completely shut her down in one attack. Even dead, he'd left her powerless — how sickening! The esper wiped her head furiously with her sleeve.
A cloth wrapped around Tatsumaki's forehead.
The esper flinched (she would regret the sudden movement in a few moments) and turned around. The B-Class looked back at her, ripped cape in hand.
"What… do you think you're doing, baldy?" said the esper, eyes narrowing.
"Blindfolding you so I can take you somewhere sketchy," replied Saitama.
Tatsumaki was either not amused or didn't think that was a joke at all. She gave him the nastiest look he'd ever seen.
"I, uh, thought that would make you calm down. I was kidding. Here," he knelt over to her, tightening the cloth and tying it in a ribbon. The blood seeped into it, but the slow trickling had been dealt with. "There you go."
"Just… stop," Tatsumaki said, touching her forehead. "I don't need your help. I don't… want anything to do with you."
"Same here," said Saitama. "The sooner you let me get you down, the sooner we can have nothing to do with each other."
That made sense, it really did — but the esper wasn't happy about it in the slightest.
"Fine," she said. "Make it quick."
Saitama carried her again.
"Here we go then," he said. And jumped.
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"Sensei!"
The cyborg made his way to Saitama, who had managed to get half his body stuck in the ground. The rubble wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. Not even close. Luckily, he managed to get the little esper out of the way before he hit the ground. As it was, he was holding her above his head like a man doing a deadlift.
Genos was trying to pull him up by his belt, but Saitama wouldn't budge.
'Kill me,' Tatsumaki said, feeling the baldy try wiggling out in rhythm to the cyborg's pulling. The S-Class and the B-Class were a perfect pair in the worst way possible.
"You can… put me down, you know…"
Saitama looked as if the esper had just solved the mysteries of the universe. "Ohhhhhhh!"
He set her down and pulled himself out of the ground. Genos, who had been waiting for his master to come out of the ship for the past few minutes, talked to him with anxiety-ridden vigor. Tatsumaki sat down, resigning herself to listen to their conversation. Her legs still couldn't support her weight.
"Sensei! You're unharmed!" Genos noted, looking at Saitama up and down.
"Yeah, the situation's pretty much handled," the baldy said.
"Were you the cause of the explosion up there?" Genos pointed towards the ship.
"Eh, kinda,"said Saitama. "I fought someone really strong. That attack was from him."
"I see, sensei," Genos lowered his hand and touched his chin. "My sensors couldn't properly calculate the limits of that explosion's energy. Does this mean that you've beaten the enemy that would have brought about the prophesied 'trouble' towards the Earth"
"Nah," it was Saitama's turn to raise a finger. "Turns out, prophecies can't be trusted."
"Oh… I see sensei!" Genos brought out a notebook, quickly jotting down notes. After a few seconds, he paused. "Ah, master. By the way," the cyborg gestured to the injured esper. "What happened to her?"
Saitama shrugged. "Dunno. The kid got hurt before I got there. What do you think we should do about her?"
"I'm here, you know," said Tatsumaki, choosing to overlook the bald man's insult. The esper's tendency to be ignored had always been a sore spot. She pointed a finger at Saitama. "And just to clear things up, I didn't need your help there. I could've beaten him myself."
"We should bring her to the nearest hospital, sensei," Genos answered Saitama. "With her injuries, it would not be recommended to just let her be."
"Makes sense," the baldy said. "Where's the nearest one?"
"Oi! Are you deaf?!"
"Let's see," Genos began. His pupils flashed with little lights as they surveyed possible locations to bring the esper to. "The nearest hospitals are in City B, but my recommendation is to head to M-City instead. It is large and relatively safe, since the S-Class King's presence is enough to keep crime at bay. I worry that the hospitals may be full, though. If it comes down to it, sensei, I will personally evict those with lesser injuries! Those with minor bruises and scrapes will be forced away!"
"He—llo—!?"
"No, don't do that!" said Saitama hurriedly. "But, uh, City M, huh? That's kinda… far."
"Is it?" Genos asked. "If you are not satisfied with my recommendation, I will recalibrate my search based on a straight-line path to our apartment in Z-City. Would that be better for you, master?"
"HEY!" Tatsumaki stood up before Saitama could say anything, grabbing the baldy's ripped-up cape and pulling it. She ignored the wave of nausea that hit her. "L-listen here!"
Genos did not take lightly to her 'attack' on his master. He placed an arm between the two. "Do not harass sensei!"
"Shut up, small fry. This has nothing… ahh… nothing to do with you!" Tatsumaki grabbed her lower chest, quickly running out of energy to argue. With difficulty, she pointed at Saitama. "I'm not going to a hospital, you hear me?"
The baldy frowned, waving for his disciple to lay off the arm-blocking pose. "But you need a doctor."
"I'm fine. I just need you to take me home and leave me b—"
Home. Her home in A-City. The city that had just gotten demolished by Boros' ship. She had nowhere to go.
'Oh, god.' Tatsumaki sat back down.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Saitama asked.
Pretending not to hear, the esper shut her eyes tight.
"Yo," Saitama waved a hand in front of Tatsumaki. "You still with us?"
"Shh!" The esper slapped his hand away, answering his question in the most Tatsumaki way possible. "Let me think!"
Saitama shrugged, turning to Genos. The baldy brought something up about egg and rice, and their stupid conversation began once more.
At least they had the decency to move a little further away.
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The S-Class Rank 3 Hero Silverfang pounded his back the third time that day, trying to beat the pain out of it.
'I'm getting older by the day,' he noted with resignation. Prolonged fights like the one with the regenerating alien would be dangerous if they kept coming up again in the next few months, he knew. In his present state, he could probably only beat Dragon-level threats after he did his daily stretching. Anything before that, and he would definitely get something pulled. In-battle cramps were horrendous for keeping form.
"Haah," Bang breathed, finally able to vanquish his lower back ache. "I should probably do more full-body workouts."
The old martial artist was currently walking around the perimeter of the ship, slowly following the young cyborg and generally heading away from the S-Class heroes arguing amongst themselves. He knew that in time, he would catch up to Genos — and in turn, he would meet up with Saitama. The two, aside from being amazingly powerful, were better company than many of the hot-headed men he knew.
He also wasn't giving up on getting them to become his pupils, not in the slightest.
Stepping carefully around the uneven ground, Bang heard the familiar voices of the two rookie heroes grow louder. As he turned a corner he saw them standing idly, Genos pointing accusingly at Saitama's glove. The hero was making his thumb detach from the joint using 'magic,' it seemed, and Genos could not understand how he was doing it.
Before he could chuckle at their little interaction, Bang's instincts tapped gently in his head. There was another presence nearby, he realized. The battle-hardened man tried to place it immediately. Surveying the clusters of debris around him, he spotted a small esper, nearly camouflaged in the rubble near the ship. That was odd. She was never one to use her feet to get from place to place — much less deactivate them in order to sit down on the ground.
The old hero's eyes turned wide as he walked closer. She was bleeding from the head and neck, and had moderate burns around her entire body. Her arms were crossed, pressing against her ribs, and her eyes were closed shut.
"Tatsumaki!" Bang called out, hopping gracefully over to the small esper. "Are you—!"
"Oh, hey Bang! Hey!" Before he could finish, Saitama called out, walking over to him. The caped hero put a finger over his mouth, signing for silence.
Bang looked at him, not quite understanding the reasoning behind the baldy's action. Nonetheless, he respected the man enough to keep his voice at a whisper. "Saitama, did you not notice Tatsumaki lying injured over here?"
"Ah, about that," the bald man said, whispering back. "She was kinda the one who told me to stay away. She said she was 'thinking' and slapped my hand away."
Bang frowned again. Saitama led him a little further from the esper so they could talk normally.
"Young Saitama, she's injured," Bang began after a few steps. "As a hero, you should not ignore someone who is hurt, no matter what they might say. We must bring her to a hospital right away."
Saitama nodded. "You say that, but little miss hero over there seems to really be against the idea. Besides, she can actually stand — and shout in my ear — if you can believe it."
Bang twiddled his moustache. After being around Saitama, he learned that despite how lazily the bald man seemed to act, if someone was truly in danger, he would not hesitate to take action.
"If both you and her say so, then I suppose the situation isn't as bad as it seems," Bang said. "But still, let me try talking her out of it. No matter how you put it, not seeking medical help seems… unwise."
"We'll find a way, but sure — if you can," Saitama shrugged as Bang began to make his way towards the esper.
Turning quickly back over to Genos, the strongest man 'pulled' his thumb off and laughed as the blonde cyborg stared at him, trying to analyze the scene with his A.I. assisted sight.
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Tatsumaki groaned inwardly as she heard Bang make his way toward her. The esper had a lot of respect for the rank 3 hero — that was why she really didn't want to argue with him — but if worse came to worst, she would definitely do it.
"I know what you're going to say," Tatsumaki said weakly as the old martial artist sat down in front of her. "And I'm telling you, I'm fine."
"Tatsumaki, be reasonable," said Bang. He knew that dealing with the stubborn type required a gentler approach. "Being injured is a part of a hero's everyday life — and so is getting proper treatments for any of those injuries. People are worried about you. You should show them that you're safe."
"I don't care," the esper said, not meeting his eyes. "I'm not going."
"Hmm? Why?"
Tatsumaki stayed quiet.
Bang sighed. There was a difference between being stubborn and being stupidly so, and it seemed that a majority of the S-Class were part of the latter. There must have been some reason for Tatsumaki to loathe the idea of being in a medical ward, but it was not his business to peer too deeply into it. Maybe it was his old age getting to him, but he relented.
"If you believe in yourself with such diligence, then there's nothing I can say to change your mind," Bang said. "But take some advice from an old man who's made more mistakes than he can count: choosing to be alone when you need help is the worst thing you can do."
The rank 3 hero stood up, exchanged a few words with Saitama and Genos, patted their shoulders and headed off. Tatsumaki was left to her own thoughts.
"I don't need help," the esper muttered.
That time, she only half-meant it.
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After a few minutes, Saitama walked over to the esper, who was still sitting by the ship.
"C'mon. We're going," he said. "I'm hungry and you're hurt. Sitting there on the ground isn't doing much for either of us."
The esper glared ice at him. "I told you, I'm not letting you carry me to any of your stupid M-City hospitals!"
Saitama tilted his head — she knew exactly what he was gonna say next.
"Or any other city's hospitals, either!"
Sighing, Saitama sat down beside the small esper. He adjusted a little to get comfortable. "Then where are we going, huh? Tell me."
Tatsumaki didn't reply.
"You got a house?" Saitama suggested. "I could drop you off, maybe have Genos take a look at your wounds."
"I lived here," replied Tatsumaki. She sounded annoyed.
"Ah," Saitama said, looking around at the destroyed city. "Then, does anyone you know live nearby?"
The esper didn't respond.
"Does anyone you know live far-by?"
Again, silence.
"Family?" the bald man suggested, getting impatient.
Tatsumaki looked away from him.
"Oi. If you aren't gonna reply, then we're gonna be here all day," Saitama said. "Aren't you hungry?"
No response. The bald man's eye twitched. Had she suddenly become mute?
"Hey," he began, frowning. "Why aren't you answering me?"
The wind howled through the destroyed ship. Dust danced in the air. Tatsumaki refused to reply.
Feeling a twinge of annoyance, Saitama opened his mouth to snap at the stubborn girl.
Thankfully, a certain old martial artist seemed to have known what would happen minutes before it actually did. His words rang inside the man's bald head.
'Be patient with her,' Bang had said to the two heroes before walking off. 'She isn't used to needing help.'
"Sigh." The bald man closed his eyes and sat there with the esper for a few minutes.
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"Why… don't you just… leave?" Tatsumaki started. Her voice had gotten even weaker. "Why are you… so dead-set on helping me?"
"You're obviously hurt. Even if you say you're fine, I can tell you won't be able to walk if you try."
"… You're really annoying… you know that?"
"Same goes for you, kid."
"I… I told you… I'm not a kid!" Tatsumaki said, coughing after the exclamation.
"Uh huh," Saitama said, scratching his ear. He looked at her. "So, have you decided where to go yet? You didn't answer any of my questions a while ago."
"No," she replied. "I don't have anywhere to go."
Saitama looked unimpressed. "You know, Genos talked to me about your sister. Fuyu — Futon — no, uhh, Fubuki?" Tatsumaki's ear twitched. "Why don't we take you to her?"
"Definitely not!" The esper's reply was a little too quick.
"But—"
"No way are you bringing me to her, you understand me?!"
Saitama groaned. "No this, no that — I can't believe this…"
The bald man stood up muttering, and walked off.
'He's finally left,' Tatsumaki thought to herself. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or disappointed — and she hated the fact that she was even considering feeling the latter. 'I can get some peace and quiet here, then make my way to wherever no one will see me after I can walk again.'
She felt a small wave of heat in front of her.
"Yes, sensei!" the girl heard a distant voice say. Looking over, she saw Genos blast into the distance, propelled by powerful jets of fire on his shoulders. He seemed to be in a hurry.
The baldy, on the other hand, was still there. Scratching his head in the distance, the esper saw him turn and walk back over to her.
"What are you doing… baldy?"
"If you've really got nowhere to go, then," the bald man started, honestly not believing what he was about to say. "Then… you can stay with us for a bit."
"With you…?" Tatsumaki frowned.
"Yep," Saitama said, looking dead inside. He dreaded the idea of another person staying in his already-cramped apartment. "With me… and Genos… and all of our stuff…"
"Hmm," the esper ignored his muttering.
If it was anyone else, the esper would have scoffed and turned them down immediately.
But it was the baldy asking. An emotionless, utterly unreadable baldy she hadn't even heard of before that day had just asked her if she wanted to stay over, and she was actually thinking about it!
After a few more minutes of thinking on the esper's part, and a few more minutes of foot-tapping and stomach-grumbling on the baldy's, Tatsumaki had reached a conclusion. Why exactly she had come to that conclusion was a mix of intrigue and simple necessity, but it wasn't to say she didn't still have apprehensions about the caped idiot himself. Even if he was a hero, and wouldn't do anything completely stupid while she recovered, there were still many reasons for the green-haired esper to be wary.
But as it stood, the pros outweighed the cons. The scene she'd witnessed atop the ship had definitely raised her opinion of him too, it seemed. His white cape still fluttered warmly in her mind.
"Fine," said Tatsumaki. The words came out like sandpaper in her mouth. She felt a little lightheaded after having not spoken in a while. "But I don't need you… ahh… coddling me while I recover, got that?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Saitama breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to convince the little esper to make a decision — despite it being a really bad one in his eyes.
Saitama picked her up for a second time that day, and the bald hero began jogging towards Z-City.
"You don't have to pay rent, by the way," he started, the ground whizzing by under him. "Genos is kinda paying for all my expenses, so I'd feel bad if you did, too. I mean, unless you really wanted to…"
The only thing he could hear were the sounds of his footsteps and the wind rushing past his smooth head. Saitama looked down.
The esper had fallen asleep in his arms, finally succumbing to exhaustion.
'She was so much more reasonable after I talked to her,' Saitama thought. 'I've gotta remember to thank Bang for his advice.'
Smiling to himself, the bald man could almost taste the rice bowl he would be making for dinner…
That is, if he hadn't overlooked something very, very important. Slowing to a halt and thinking for a few moments, realization dawned on the bald hero. When Genos had rushed off, Saitama had told him to buy some medical supplies for the little esper — as well as a small bag of rice to cook later on. But:
'I… I forgot to tell Genos to buy eggs. Damn.'