The sound from a TV gently woke the green-haired girl. The apartment was bright, and she could hear the faint chirping of birds outside.

Bathed in the morning sun, the room felt quaint — cozy, almost. There was a warmth permeating through the air that made it hard to get up.

The soreness of Tatsumaki's body didn't help with the matter either.

The esper groaned as she sat up, feeling her torso cry in protest. The table was blocking her view of the small television set, and she really had nothing better to do than watch. From the corner of her eye, she saw the baldy lying sideways, holding the remote. He'd turned the TV on, then.

Saitama was watching the news and as expected, it was all about the events of the previous day. A female reporter was speaking, her forehead wrapped in a bandage not unlike the one the esper wore.

"The Hero Association has assured us that construction of a new headquarters is underway — one that will guarantee the protection of its tenants, as well as the quick deployment of heroes to any city. The planning has not been finalized yet, but there have been speculations that the S-Class rank 6 hero Metal Knight will be the one to remodel the building. He has proved time and time again to be capable and very diligent with his construction work, and there is no doubt he will meet the expectations of the Hero Association — he isn't the sixth ranked hero just for show, after all. Despite this tragedy, the Association has taken immediate action and did their best to move forward. All we can do now is to trust our heroes to become stronger, and get ready for what may come in the future."

Tatsumaki sighed. Despite the media's assurance of the Association's abilities, the entire ordeal was still an embarrassment to the S-Class and the Hero Association, no matter what anyone said. Inside the HQ, there was no way for the heroes to have known what was happening in A-City — and that was the problem. It wouldn't change even if they made a bigger, better base. If enemies like the aliens continued to show up at the worst times, then there would be destruction. And inevitably, anger among the civilians would rise. The organization — and by association, the esper — would look like a joke! Not to mention, if another monster like Boros appeared…

The esper put a hand on her bandaged throat. She didn't want to think about it.

The reporter continued speaking.

"We have some worrying news, however. The Association has recently confirmed that the S-Class rank 2 hero Tornado of Terror has not been seen since she entered the alien spacecraft yesterday. The rubble of the crashed ship has not been cleared yet, and a search team has been sent out to try and find her. It is likely that the Tornado of Terror was the one that caused the ship's destruction and the aliens' defeat — and for that we are entirely grateful. The search team is working as quickly as they can to find her."

The feed cut to interviews with the heroes that stayed in A-City after the ship's destruction. Some had even joined in the search effort.

"She's a tough one, that Tatsumaki-chan! Her psychic powers will keep her safe, for sure. All we need is to find her quickly!" Puri Puri Prisoner gave a thumbs-up to the camera, then went back to lifting huge chunks of the ship's purple metal. "Angel Carry!"
"Tch, the esper's a handful, but there's… guh… no way she'd kick the bucket after just an explosion like that." Metal Bat said, his trademark sports tool switched out for a shovel. He was digging as they spoke. "She's got… urgh… fighting spirit — and we need to fight right along with her! Raah!"

Tatsumaki frowned.

Despite her injuries, the esper's head was clear enough to read the situation. The heroes needed some positive attention after such a loss — and the whole 'esper rescue' situation would bring about exactly that. If someone suddenly showed up and informed the media that she had already been rescued, it would meaninglessly put the heroes in another embarrassing spot. They were just doing their job right now — it was best to let them be.

It didn't mean she liked it, though.

"Hey, they think you're still inside the ship," said Saitama after a while. He had a slightly different train of thought as the reporter spoke. That is to say, he didn't have one. "That's a problem, right?"

The esper's eyes turned to the baldy. She shook her head.

"This is fine," Tatsumaki told him, sighing. "We can leave them be."

"Huh? Why?"

"They need to show their competency," the girl explained briskly.

The baldy didn't really get what she was saying. "Keeping this a secret seems weird. A lot of people think you might be dead."

Tatsumaki waved her hand, annoyed. "But I'm not. I'll tell the Association eventually. Don't worry about it."

"Eh," Saitama shrugged. A lot of what the esper said didn't really make sense. "I guess you could ask Genos to do it when he comes back."

Tatsumaki looked around. True enough, the cyborg wasn't there.

"Huh." She figured that it would be better if she didn't show up in public until the information was revealed. Genos, being a trusted hero in the Association, would be able to report it without too much trouble. All she needed was to give the cyborg proof to bring with him — maybe a phone? Tatsumaki thought about it for a bit. With all the problems the Association was dealing with, it would be a risk for them if they didn't absolutely confirm the esper's safety. She might end up needing to personally show that she was alive.

"What a headache," muttered the esper under her breath. It was much too early in the morning for stupid Association matters.

Tatsumaki's stomach seemed to agree.

"GRRROWL," it said in confirmation. Saitama looked over to her.

"Want some eggs?" the baldy asked.

"Ugh." Tatsumaki held her stomach angrily.

Taking it as a 'yes,' the baldy stood up and walked to the kitchen. He rummaged around, preparing the things he needed to cook the egg. As he searched around for a bowl to whisk in, he heard a sound behind him. Tatsumaki had stood up, opened his fridge, and gotten two eggs from inside. Saitama raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" she asked, glaring.

"Do you even know how to cook?" Saitama asked.

Tatsumaki scoffed, closing the fridge door.

"I took care of my little sister when we were younger," Tatsumaki said, then paused. "None of your business, by the way."

"Okay," Saitama said. He turned a knob to heat up one of the stove's burners, placed a pan on top of it, then poured oil on the pan. He held his hands out for the two eggs. "But still, you shouldn't push yourself."

She refused to give them to him.

"I'm fine," the esper said. It wasn't true; every inch of her body felt sore — just opening the refrigerator was difficult, embarrassing as it was. But she'd be damned if she was gonna let him have his way. She strained to keep the eggs away from the bald hero.

"You're really not," he said, managing to grab one. He cracked it over a bowl and started whisking it with a fork.

"Tch." The green-haired esper floated her own egg above the glass dish and cracked it neatly with psychic energy. It dropped down with a small splash.

"I thought you couldn't lift anything with your psychic powers yet," Saitama said, turning to point at her with the fork. Tatsumaki made a twirling gesture with her pointer finger, and the eggs whisked themselves.

"That was yesterday, dummy," she said, ignoring the sudden pain in the middle of her forehead. "I'm all… better now."

The baldy raised an eyebrow. Carefully, he went back to whisking the eggs.

"Hey, could you heat up some rice instead?"

The esper raised a finger again, the bowl glowing green as its insides mixed about. Saitama looked at her accusingly.

"You heat the rice," Tatsumaki said.

The baldy picked up the pan and poured the yellow liquid onto it, forcing the esper to release her psychic grip. Tatsumaki tried to reach for the pan with her hand, but Saitama put a hand on her shoulder.

"C'mon, we gotta work together here," he said quickly, using the tried-and-true 'Bang Method' of speaking to her. "You need to keep yourself from straining, right? I'll cook, and you get the rice. That way you won't need to tire yourself out."

The esper huffed angrily, but headed to the refrigerator.

It still surprised the baldy how well that worked.

The magnetized door creaked open and Tatsumaki looked around. It wasn't that difficult to find the leftover rice from the day before — the fridge was practically empty. There were some vegetables in the chiller, a few condiments laying about, and some juice, but that was about it. The container for the rice was placed neatly beside some cartons of juice. Tatsumaki grabbed it and emptied its contents out inside another bowl.

As the rice heated up inside the microwave, the esper sat on the counter.

"Can you get the chopsticks and stuff?" Saitama asked her, grabbing some salt behind her. "I'm almost done."

Tatsumaki sighed and hopped off. She muttered something about straining herself, but the baldy didn't quite catch it.

Looking around for the utensils wasn't that easy, considering the two of them were in the tiniest kitchen she'd ever seen. Tatsumaki bumped the baldy more than a few times as she searched in the unfamiliar little room.

"Ow! Could you…" the esper made to push Saitama, trying to open a drawer, but he didn't budge. "Maybe move a little?"

"Ah." He stepped back a little, careful to adjust his grip on the pan.

The esper looked at a drawer's contents in dismay.

'First the fridge, now this?'

It was basically empty again, save for a few differently-sized plates, two bowls, and a little plastic utensil holder.

"Have you ever gotten your hero pay, baldy?" Tatsumaki asked him, grabbing two pairs of chopsticks.

"I think I have. Why?" Saitama replied.

"A B-Class hero with good earnings should be able to afford an apartment somewhere decent," she said.

Saitama frowned. "Yeah, and?"

Tatsumaki looked at him. "You're no small fry. There's no way you can't afford something better than this dump."

Ding! The microwave seemed to agree.

"Gee, thanks," Saitama said, grabbing the rice from the appliance and setting it on the countertop. Just like the day before, the esper's small talk abilities were absolutely horrid.

"And Genos should be earning a lot, too," the esper continued, oblivious. "You should move out — find a place in a better city, or something."

"Just because you're older doesn't mean you need to lecture me," said Saitama. "Besides, rent's cheap."

"Whatever," Tatsumaki said. She shook her head as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving the baldy to scratch his head.

.

The two sat down in the living room, looking at their handiwork proudly. The table was set up elegantly, and the food looked just as delicious as yesterday. With a wave of her hand, Tatsumaki floated some mayo and nori bits onto her scrambled egg. As expected, it gave her a headache.

"So," Saitama said, in-between bites. "When do you plan to leave?"

"When I can use my powers again," Tatsumaki said, rubbing her temples.

"And that's gonna take how long?" he asked.

"Two weeks. Probably." She took a bite.

"Two… weeks…?" The baldy looked pained. Two weeks was a long time.

"What?" the girl asked accusingly. "You were the one that said I could stay here."

"Yeah, but you don't seem to like it much."

"What do you mean?" asked Tatsumaki, frowning. "I'm even helping you cook!"

"I dunno. You always seem so… restless," Saitama said, chewing. "You know, if you're gonna be here for two weeks, you need to relax."

The baldy made it sound easy. Of course he did.

"Relax?! Like there's any way I can 'relax' right now!" The esper was incredulous. She leaned over and jabbed a finger sharply at Saitama's chest. "Listen here, baldy! I don't know if we watched the same news report a while ago, but everyone thinks I'm dead! Making breakfast didn't suddenly change that!"

The baldy raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said not to worry about it?"

"I told you not to worry about it," she said, pouting as she looked away. "Just let me be!"

The esper sat back and ate angrily.

It seemed that just because the baldy didn't want anything from her, it didn't mean he was trustworthy. Judging from everything she'd seen, it seemed likely that he simply didn't care enough to want anything. Sure, he was different from people who would use others to gain power, but was not caring any better?

.

Saitama didn't know what to think of Tatsumaki. When they'd met before the S-Class heroes' meeting, the esper had definitely been nothing but a nuisance — and that didn't really change until he'd brought her off the ship. After then, she seemed to have mellowed a little. Of course, the bald man found that dealing with her was still trouble, but he noticed that she seemed a little different. He wasn't the type to bother to find out what it was, but try as the baldy might, he couldn't shake the feeling that it all seemed so familiar.

Faint memories from years past fluttered like butterflies in the hero's mind.

A ripped up blue track-jacket. Blood dripping on an apartment floor. A broken leg and an empty wallet. Crude bandages and a half-month long limp. Simmering heat. Frustration.

"Hmm," Saitama looked at Tatsumaki, her outfit torn and body completely wrapped in gauze. The news was still on; here and there the situation around the esper was brought up. Every time it was, Saitama could see Tatsumaki's eyes grow darker.

'Two weeks really is a long time.'

Seeing the esper grow tired of the media's empty assurances of her safety, Saitama picked up the remote. The TV shut off with a click.

Tatsumaki watched as the baldy stood up, grabbed a manga from a shelf behind him, and dropped it in front of her.

"Here," he said, sliding it towards the esper. "I've been reading it since yesterday. It's kinda nice."

"What," Tatsumaki narrowed her eyes. "Are you doing?"

Saitama shrugged. "Anything's better than watching the news."

"I told you to lay off," she said, pushing the book back.

"I think you'll lik—"

"Lay. Off."

The baldy stood there, thinking for a minute. The esper was surprised — she didn't know he could think at all.

"Fine," the baldy raised his hands in resignation. "I'll leave you to it, then."

The esper didn't realize what he meant by that until she heard some shuffling and rustling by the apartment's entrance. The baldy was about to go out, discount flier in hand. Apparently 'leaving it to you' meant actually leaving.

"Lock the door behind me," Saitama said.

"Hey—" the girl began.

The door shut quietly, and Tatsumaki was left all to herself.

The esper went to reach for the remote, but pulled herself back. Like it or not, the esper admitted that continuing to mull over her situation would give her a headache — or at least, a worse one than she already had.

Also, it seemed the baldy had taken the remote with him.

.

.

Thud, thud. Thud, thud.

The sound made Tatsumaki jump. There were muffled voices outside, and the esper didn't seem to recognize them. Standing up and turning her head towards the door, she could make out what they were saying. The two spoke with an air of urgency.

"Are you sure this is Mister Genos' address?" one of them said. His voice seemed nervous, but that could have been just a trick of the mind. "Why would he want to live in the ghost town?"

"I don't know. But when the Association sent for him yesterday, they gave me this street. It was just luck that I found him in Sir Bang's dojo," another replied. His tone was considerably more level.

'Association members,' Tatsumaki realized, shocked. Had they come to ask Genos about her whereabouts? They had arrived much sooner than she'd anticipated, and it was all because she didn't take into account that the cyborg living along with the baldy was an S-Class hero that had fought in A-City. The esper silently cursed.

"Alright, so knock," the first one said.

"Fine," the other replied. Tatsumaki could almost hear him rolling his eyes. A few muffled footsteps, and she could see the man's shadow under the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Tatsumaki was left in an odd situation. Of course, she had only two options: first, and the most appealing idea, was not to answer the door. If she left them alone, they'd probably give up. Genos had been gone quite a while, and the odds of him coming back weren't high. She would continue to be suspected as dead, and people would be on their merry way.

But then, they would probably come back and try again eventually. That was a small little setback to her plan.

"Tch," the esper said, biting the nail of her thumb.

Knock, knock, knock? The sound was less confident that time.

The second option it was, then.

The esper unlatched the door.

"Ah Mister Gen— Miss Tatsumaki?!" a nervous looking man in a suit almost spit out a drink that didn't even exist. His bespectacled colleague did a double-take. The man's relaxed demeanor turned completely over its head.

"Y-y-you're alive!" he stammered, rubbing his eyes through the eyewear.

Both of the workers looked at each other and instantly brought out their phones, no doubt about to contact H.Q. Both simultaneously made to press the emergency call button, but they didn't quite make it. Even injured, Tatsumaki was fast.

The two gadgets glowed green and flung themselves out of the mens' reach, falling down into the ground far below. The two workers winced as the crunching noise hit their ears.

"What are you doing, Miss?!" the man with glasses said.

"Keeping you two from making a stupid mistake," the girl said, holding her bandaged head. The pair made to reply, but the psychic held up a finger to stop them. That is, she literally stopped them. Their black ties were glowing green, tightening around their necks enough to make them as uncomfortable as possible.

"Listen here," she said, pulling the two closer. On the surface, her expression was cold. Inside, however, the esper's mind was whirling, trying to come up with a plan. "Tell Sitch… that I was able to leave the ship by myself. Tell him to tell the heroes that, too. But… tell him to tell the media I was saved. Got it?"

The two workers nodded in fearful obedience, and the esper's nodded, too. It wasn't one made in confirmation, but more of a self-satisfied head movement. If all went according to plan, the heroes would never realize she'd almost gotten killed, the media would gain a little more respect for the S-Class, and most importantly, she could — oh, wait.

"Don't tell anyone where I am either, or I'll personally see to your… twisting," she said, twirling their neckties into spirals as a demonstration. "Okay?"

Again, the two nodded. The two didn't know what she meant by that odd word, but her hero name hinted that that it wouldn't be a good thing in the slightest.

"Good," Tatsumaki said. "Now get out."

The two obeyed meekly, bowing away from the esper. They briskly headed back to the headquarters to tell their colleagues the news.

And most importantly, the esper continued, she could recover without much worry anymore. All she needed to do was not to talk to Fubuki until she'd forgotten all about the whole 'I'm sorry' business. That wouldn't be too hard, would it? After the esper could fly again, there was nobody in the world that could track her.

As the esper made to walk back into the apartment, she heard some talking on the street below. It seemed the baldy had finished shopping.

In Saitama's arms were two of the biggest plastic bags she'd seen. One of them was full of green vegetables — it looked like he'd bought enough to feed a zoo. The other was completely stretched out by jugs of milk. How the plastic was able to contain it was a mystery that the esper didn't think she had the will to solve.

"You two looking for rooms?" Saitama asked the two men in his way.

"Uhh," the nervous one replied. "Not exactl—"

"'Cuz I know somebody that can hook you up with something really cheap." Any of the bald man's hand gestures was lost in the sea of leaves and milk. Anything he said was blocked out by the sound of plastic and crunching leaves. "The landlord said that if I get more people to stay, all our rent'll go down. So how about it?"

"Sorry," the bespectacled man said, patting the baldy's shoulder. He didn't understand a thing Saitama said. "But we really have to go."

The two went off, leaving the bald man to shrug. The two enormous plastic bags heaved as he did so, causing him to flail about trying to regain balance. The man's reflexes were the only things that kept his discount haul intact.

The esper smirked and went back inside.

.

"Um, Tatsu-whatsit, can you open the door?" a muffled Saitama spoke.

"It's Tatsumaki, baldy," she replied, heading to the entrance.

"Katsu-Maki," Saitama said. "Let me in. I got my hands full."

The door swung open.

"What did you just call me?!"

"I was joking," the baldy said, stepping in sideways to fit the food. "Thanks, Tats."

The esper huffed and walked back to the living room as Saitama headed towards the kitchen.

"You took the remote," she accused as the man tried to find a way to stuff the unholy amount of vegetables in the fridge's chiller.

"I, uhh… sorry," he said. Leaves were still sticking out of the chiller, but the hero left it be. Grabbing the remote control from his pocket, he tossed it through the kitchen pass-through. "There 'ya go."

The esper caught it with her psychic powers and placed it on the small center table.

"I also took care of the whole 'I'm dead business,'" she said.

"Ohh, was that why there were two Association guys downstairs a while ago?"

"Yep," the esper said. "If you recognized them, why did you try selling them an apartment?"

"Hey," the bald man said, now trying to fit all the jugs of milk in the fridge. It wasn't turning out quite well. "A discount's a discount."

The esper rolled her eyes. Leave it to the baldy to make it all about money.

"But, uh, congrats, I guess?" Satiama said, giving up and closing the fridge. "You seem kinda more satisfied now."

"Huh?"

The bald man walked into the living room.

"I can tell from that little smile you made while I was on the street," he said. "Well, either that or you really liked seeing me fall."

"It was your own fault for buying so much," the esper said. "Of course you'd look funny flailing all stupid-like."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, noticing the manga on the table. There was a piece of folded scratch paper ledged in-between a few pages near the start of the book. He picked it up.

"So," he said, opening the manga up using the crude bookmark. It seemed the esper had followed his advice and relaxed a little. That was nice. "Do you like the story so far?"

The esper looked over to him.

"Well, it did give me some ideas," she said. "Spirals really can be creepy."

"Tell me about it," the baldy said. "When I saw your hair the other day, I nearly freaked."

"Oh," the esper looked smug. "I thought it was because you were jealous I had any at all."

"Why you little—!"

.

.

Aaaaand, scene. Hopefully this chapter turned out well — I do have a little more free time now, thank all the gods, but I was writing this while I was super busy. It's a long one to boot, so please forgive the dip in quality! See you next chapter!